Lucius, the Legendary Vulpix
by Tsar Lawrence III
Summary: The story of Lucius, a legendary Vulpix in Pokemon history that forever changed the Pokemon world.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the story of Lucius, the Vulpix who changed the Pokemon world.**

**I do not own Pokemon, I just was inspired to write this story by the work of others.**

Chapter 1

Enter Lucius the Vulpix

"Lucius! Hurry up you're going to be late for school!" Ninetails called to her son. Lucius, the youngest Vulpix of a family of Ninetails, ran about, trying to get ready for school. As he ran towards the front door, his mom and dad were waiting for him.

"Mommy, I can walk to school by myself. I'm nine years old!" Lucius whimpered to his over-protective parents.

"But you can't use Ember son. I don't want my baby to get hurt." Lucius' mother said to him. "Hold on, you hair isn't set right again." She bent over and licked his head, trying to get his orange fur under control.

He pulled away from her. "Stop mommy, you're embarrassing me…" Lucius mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Now Lucius, be nice to your mother." Lucius' father told him in his firm tone. "Now, you two head to school. I'll see you after school buddy." He said, leaning over and licking Lucius' head.

"Bye dad." Lucius walked outside, looking at the rising sun, its warmth spreading over his body.

"Didn't you forget something son?" Lucius' mom said. Turning, Lucius saw her walking towards him with his lunch pail in her jaw. Pawing the ground, Lucius took it and wrapped it around his shoulder and started walking.

"Mommy, why can't I use Ember like any other Vulpix?" Lucius asked, watching the ground as he walked. His school was far from his house and it always took a while to get there.

"Because your special, son." She answered without missing a beat, as if she anticipated the question.

"It's not fair, I'm the only Pokémon who can't fight at school. No one likes me, the other children make fun of me, and the teachers ignore me. I feel like a freak… Can't I drop out mommy?" Lucius asked, looking at his mother.

"No, you'll learn someday. You just have to think how those kids are acting and how they'll act when you can use Ember."

"I'll be able to beat them up!" Lucius said eagerly.

"No, violence is not the answer. If you study hard, you'll become a genius. You need to learn that violence will not solve all your issues." She said, keeping her head high while providing him with her valuable wisdom.

"Well, can I keep out of school until that day?" Lucius asked hopefully. The school was in sight, and so were all the Pokémon children.

"No. Hold still, your hair is getting crazy again." She bent over and started licking his head. Lucius pulled away-again-and sat on his butt. He wasn't especially tired, he'd been walking this path for a few years now, but he was slightly sullen. Every day he came and was picked on by the other Pokémon kids. He couldn't fight back and the teachers didn't care enough to protect and baby a Pokémon that couldn't fight.

"Okay, by mommy see you after school. I love you." Lucius said before running towards the school. As he got nearer, he felt two strong hands push his ribs and he fell over. As he fell, he saw who he thought jumped him. Tyrogue, one of the biggest bullies in the school, was snickering, standing in front of his older brothers Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee with his arms crossed. Tyrogue and his older brothers were some of the strongest and most arrogant Pokémon in the school. They were generally bullies that picked on all the other Pokémon in the school. And they're favorite target was Lucius.

"Move it, loser." Tyrogue said, glaring at Lucius as he stood up. Sneering, he strode past him, making sure to shoulder Lucius as he past, and his brothers followed, not bothering to touch Lucius, treating him like he had an infectious disease. Entertaining thoughts on fire and Tyrogue's head, which Lucius played with a while before dispelling, Lucius saw all the other kids heading inside, and he followed suite.

'_Today's going to be a bad day.'_ He thought glumly.

Lucius was right. When he got inside, everyone sat away from him. Lucius was burning with anger, he wanted to scream, '_I don't have a disease! Why do you treat me like a freak?!?'_ As everyone settled down, the teacher, an Alakazam, started talking about different types of berries. Some were deadly, while the rarest types could reduce damage taken from supereffective moves. Lucius was on the verge of falling asleep when Alakazam called on him.

"Lucius, since you seem to know everything about this subject to the point where you can take a nap, which type of berry reduces damage from Fire-Type moves?" He asked, standing directly over Lucius.

"Uhh…." Lucius saw Tyrogue snickering with his gang of Fighting-type friends over in the corner. "Wouldn't that be the Occa berry, sir?" Lucius said politely, looking directly at Tyrogue.

"Well, it seems I underestimated your knowledge Mr. Lucius." Alakazam said, looking surprised but proud.

As Alakazam turned his back, Lucius stuck his tongue out at Tyrogue, who glared at him and cracked his knuckles. Tyrogue looked absolutely murderous, until Alakazam asked Tyrogue which berry would restore health when hit by supereffective moves. Tyrogue looked at him as if he'd spoken another language.

Sighing, Alakazam asked the class as a whole when the signal for break rang out. Everyone stood up to leave when Alakazam shut the door with Psychic. "Until someone answers, you shall eat your lunch here." He said. Everyone groaned and got their lunches out when Lucius stood on his back legs.

"Sir?" Lucius asked. Alakazam nodded, giving Lucius permission to talk. "Wouldn't that be the rare Enigma berry, sir?" Lucius questioned.

"Have a good lunch everybody.' Alakazam released the door, and everyone stared, not at the door, but at Lucius. When Tyrogue left, everyone came over and congratulated him. Several people asked Lucius, for the first time ever, to eat with them for lunch. Lucius cracked a rare smile and agreed. _Maybe today isn't such a bad day after all._

Lunch was a whirl as Lucius was surrounded by people who recognized him as a fellow Pokémon. He sat and talked with all the other kids, laughing and enjoying themselves. It ended when Tyrogue approached.

"Loser! Come over here." He yelled, cracking his knuckles while his brutish Machop thugs guffawed stupidly. Lucius stood and walked over while the others looked at him. A Growlithe stood to stop him but Lucius shook his head. The Growlithe sat on his rear, growling ferociously.

"So you think you can make fun of me and humiliate me in class and get away with it?" He asked menacingly.

A Ralts that Lucius was sitting next to stood up. She was extremely nice to Lucius and sat right next to him during lunch. "He did! What are you going to do about it?" She squeaked. Tyrogue glared at her hatefully.

"First I'm going to Tackle him, then I'm going to Tackle you!" He growled, rushing forward.

Lucius braced himself for the pain, when he felt a powerful flame rushing up his throat, which he spewed out. He saw flames race towards Tyrogue, hitting him squarely in the chest. Tyrogue screamed in pain as he flew backwards, crashing into his thuggish henchmen.

Lucius felt great. His body felt as if every fiber had a powerful flame raging inside it, and Tyrogue had been put in his place. That's when Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee appeared behind their little brother. "What do you think you're doing, runt?" Hitmonchan asked, his fists clenching and loosening.

Tyrogue got up and started crying, running behind his older brothers. Lucius tried to stifle a laugh but couldn't, but that only succeeded in making the two angrier.

"I think you need a lesson, freak!" Hitmonchan raised his fist to launch a blow at Lucius, who closed his eyes and braced himself for serious pain.

Before Hitmonchan's fist could connect, he was outlined in a blue aura. Wincing in pain, he was slowly picked up and thrown across the field. Turning, Lucius saw Ralts' older brother Gallade standing there, his eyes glowing blue. Lucius sighed and fell on his rear, Ralts running up and sitting next to him. "Are you okay, Lucius?" she asked. Lucius turned and grinned.

"Yeah, I feel great, actually!"

Gallade walked over. "You okay, sis?" he asked. Ralts nodded and jumped up and hugged him. Gallade turned to glare at Hitmonlee.

"You want to fight to?" Gallade asked, his bladelike arms extending. Shaking his head, Hitmonlee walked over, picked up his unconscious brother, and walked away.

Even though Gallade took out Hitmonchan, Lucius was hailed as a hero.

The whole school was abuzz with the fight and Lucius' new fighting ability. Lucius was hailed as a hero, and he wasn't alone anymore. Everyone wanted to sit next to him, and Alakazam seemed to smile when they walked in. Ralts sat next to Lucius in class, and everyone seemed to warm up to him. Lucius tails hadn't wagged so much in his life. Eventually his tails were tired and he just hummed to himself. "Lucius…?" Alakazam asked. Lucius looked up. "I know your riding a Wailmer, but what berries restore health without making you confused?"

Lucius was humming to himself, and the answers came easy to him. "They would be Oran berry, Sitrus berry, and technically, an Enigma berry also, sir." He said, his humming combining with his tails wagging. Ralts blushed as Lucius looked at her.

"That's right, and kudos on the Enigma berry, not many people would know that."

Lucius was on the brink of singing when a Pelipper landed in the doorway. "I'm sorry but is Lucius here?" He asked, looking at Alakazam.

"Yes he's right there. Do you need something, sir?" Alakazam asked, looking nervous.

"Umm…I need to speak to him after class." As soon as he finished, the signal for school's end rang out and after everyone said good bye to Lucius and Alakazam, the three were left alone.

"Lucius, you need to hurry home." Pelipper said in a harsh tone.

"But I thought you needed to talk to me about something…?" Lucius asked.

"Yes…um, Lucius this isn't easy to say, but your house is on fire. And your parents are missing."

**Ouch. Sorry Lucius, but that was the vision I had. Tune in to see Lucius' continued story! Oh! And leave reviews please! I love hearing how you either A) Hate it or B) How you love it and want me to keep writing the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Losing Old Friends and Gaining New Ones

Lucius ran, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he went. _'My home…is on fire…mommy and daddy are missing…are they…__**in the fire?!?**__'_ He thought, so tired even his thoughts were slow. The trip from his house to the school was long, and he had run the better part of it.

As soon as Pelipper had told him his house was burning, Lucius had bolted out the door. He had heard surprised gasps when he accidentally bumped by people, but he hadn't stop to apologize, which everyone knew was contrary to his normally kind nature. Some started running with him, asking what was wrong, but they didn't have enough stamina to keep up. Lucius was running to find and save his parents.

'_Please be okay mommy. Protect her dadd!'_ Lucius thought. His house wasn't in sight, but it made matters all the worse when Lucius did see an orange glow coming from a distance. And the glow was coming from the direction of his house.

If he had looked back even once, he would have seen three lean, muscled Pokémon running after him with a vengeance. And he would have known to run faster.

Lucius was in pain. His side was cramping from running, his legs had turned into Geodudes, but he still kept going. Deep down, Lucius realized he probably wouldn't be much help to his parents in a fire, but that didn't stop him. Three Fighting-Types did, though, when they jumped and landed a few yards in front of him.

Lucius stopped running, if he had continued he would have run straight into Tyrogues' fist. "Well loser, it doesn't look like there's anybody around to protect you!" Tyrogue sneered, the bottom of his face scarred from Lucius' Ember attack. "This time, I'm going to pulverize you!"

"Please! My house is burning down! My parents might be trapped inside!" Lucius cried, but to no avail.

"Oh, poor little Vulpix," Hitmonchan said, his gloved fist bursting into flames. "I wonder…who could have set fire to your parent's house?" He chuckled sadistically.

Lucius' eyes went wide. _'Would they have set fire to…? No, they couldn't have. They were at school same as me.'_ Lucius was grim. His legs were like Dittos, unable to support his own weight, his legs gave way and he was laying on the ground, to the mercy of his arch-nemeses. They approached, a guffaw erupting out of Tyrogue's throat.

Hitmonlee came over and, kneeling over, picked up Lucius by his throat. "I don't care one way another. You are just a freak to me. However, these two want to take their anger out on you. I guess I'll help." Lucius was choking, trying to slap Hitmonlee's hand away, but only able to lightly touch him. That's when the pain started.

Lucius felt a fist drive into his stomach, driving the breath from him and ripping him from Hitmonlee's grasp. Flying away, Lucius landed ad rolled, coughing and hacking intensely while Hitmonchan smiled, and walked closer.

"This is going to be fun, little freak!" He hissed when he got close. Tyrogue came up and forcefully grabbed Lucius by the hair of his head, holding Lucius' face up for a perfect target.

Lucius saw Hitmonchan's fist charge with electric energy, but he didn't launch a blow. "Chan! Hit him!" Tyrogue screeched. Chan looked like he was struggling to do it, but his body wouldn't comply. Before he could do anything else but look like an idiotic, brutish thug, Lucius thought, he was thrown backwards for a second time today. Lucius felt the fire that was his stressed hair disappear and he saw Tyrogue flying through the hair and hitting Hitmonlee squarely in the chest.

"Hurry up Lucius, your house is on fire." A familiar voice said behind him. Turning his head as best he could, Lucius saw Gallade standing there, his eyes glowing blue and Ralts hanging on to his back. Jumping down, she ran over to Lucius.

"Are you OK?" she asked worriedly. She looked for any sign of damage, but Lucius' orange fur hid any sign of the blow he had received just moments before they arrived.

"It hurts, but I'll live." He wheezed, struggling to his feet. Facing Gallade, he said, "This is the second time you've saved my life today. Well, technically my face but you get it. Thank you." Lucius said, his breath coming back to him.

"Don't take this personally, but I wouldn't have come if my sister didn't like you so much." Gallade said with a smile.

Lucius turned and walked over to Ralts, who blushed furiously. "Thanks," he said, and he licked her cheek. Her face turned so red she could have been mistaken for a Charmander, and all she could do was nod.

"Freak! What, is this guy your boyfriend or something? Why won't he stop following you?" Hitmonchan screamed in fury. He got up, and Hitmonlee was right next to him. Looking at each other, they dropped into a fighting stance.

"Lucius, talk Ralts and run. I shall handle these clowns." Gallade walked forward confidently, the blades from his arms extending, making an intimidating sight.

"C'mon Lucius, let's go!" Ralts begged, but Lucius didn't budge. Not that he didn't want to, but his legs still hurt too much to move. And Gallade was outnumbered, and Lucius was the only help he could probably get.

Hitmonchan started the fight. His right fist a Fire Punch, he sped forward and went to make a quick end of the fight. Gallade saw this and used his elbow-blade to deflect it, then he Teleported. Looking around, Hitmonchan didn't see anything, but he felt Gallade's sharp blade cutting into his back. Hitmonchan screamed and fell in pain, groping for his back.

Gallade thought the fight would be over, but Hitmonlee hadn't gotten his say. Leaping in the air, his legs came down and were about to his Gallade. But, Gallade's psychic abilities allow him to predict this, and he tried to move. He would have gotten away, but Tyrogue used Rapid Spin, and hit Gallade, pushing him back. Hitmonlee came down hard, but only succeeding in clipping Gallade on the shoulder. Gallade fell to a knee, grasping his shoulder, when Tyrogue's attack continued. His Rapid Spin hit Gallade again, and again and one more time. Gallade tried to block but was to slow. Tyrogue backed away, waiting for Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee to deliver the coup de grâce. But it didn't come. Looking up, he saw Hitmonlee outlined in a blue aura, than thrown up in the sky. Coming down hard, he yelped in pain. Tyrogue looked in horror, and was hit with a Psycho Cut from Gallade's blade-elbows.

Hitmonchan came back into the fray, his fists forming a Mach Punch. It hit Gallade in the face, and Gallade was on his back. Hitmonchan leaped onto his opponents shoulders, thinking he would put an end to his powerful opponent. That's when Lucius struck him with Quick Attack.

"Get away from him!" Lucius screamed, his head driving into Hitmonchan's ribs. Hitmonchan, not expecting the blow, was driven backwards. Ralts cheered in the background.

That was enough for Tyrogue and his brothers. Swearing violently, they turned and ran away, their wounds evident as they massaged sore spots.

Gallade turned, his hand rubbing his cheek. "Thanks Lucius. Thought I was dead for a second."

"No problem." Lucius said, grinning. Then he remembered why he had been running. "My parents!" he yelped, and he tried to run, only to be held back by Gallade. "Lemme go! I have to find them!"

"Ralts, come here." Ralts came and leapt on Gallade's back, and they Teleported.

Lucius landed on the ground in front of his burning house. There were water Pokémon running about, trying to put the fire out. The flames raged on, and there was no sign that anyone had come out.

Lucius ran forward, but a Blastoise blocked his way. "Hold on son, you can't go in there."

Lucius looked up at him expectantly. "Did my parents make it out?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry son, but no one has come out of that house." The Blastoise said apologetically.

Lucius looked at the house, and ran. With his Quick Attack, no one was able to grab him, and Lucius made it to the house. He couldn't stop himself, so he hit the door running, busting it down.

Lucius thought he would be in pain, thought the flames would catch his fur and burn him to a crisp. _'What a stupid way to die for a Fore-Type.'_ He thought. That's when his Flash Fire ability started, empowering him, that he realized this wasn't a natural fire. It was Pokémon made. He remember his parents telling him that natural fire would burn him, not hurting him to an extent it would another Pokémon, but a Pokémon made fire wouldn't hurt at all, but it would make him stronger.

With that grim knowledge in mind, Lucius began looking. Running upstairs, he burst into his parent's room, hoping to see them coughing and holding each other in an embrace. But they weren't there. Their nest was on fire, and all of his mother's valuables were burnt or melted to the woodwork. Turning, he ran to his room and broke down the door. His room was aflame, and most of it was unrecognizable. He scanned the room quickly, but no parents. Lucius started a coughing fit; the smoke was entering his lungs. That was something else his Flash Fire didn't protect him from, the smoke.

Lucius searched every room in the house. His parents, or their bodies, weren't there. They couldn't have been in the house. But then, where were they?!?

Lucius ran outside, coughing and hacking, his normally beautiful fur black with soot. A Chansey came up and led him away, putting a blanket around his shoulders. She used Heal Bell, and Lucius felt the smoke leave his lungs, as if it was never there. And he broke down crying. His parents _were _missing. He didn't know where they were. They didn't know where he was. In his grief, he sought to escape it all and ran. Chansey yelled for him to stop, but he didn't care. He just wanted away from all the pain. The pain, grief and everything else overwhelmed him. He ran until he reached Lake Lugia. According to urban legends, Lugia had once resided at the depths.

But Lucius didn't care for legends. His parents were gone. He howled, his tears never stopping. Through his tear-streaked eyes, he saw a black figure moving towards him, _fast._ Lucius tried to back away, but he couldn't move. Than the shadow vanished. Lucius fell on his butt, and rest his head on his paws.

Pain erupted on the back of his head, and his world went blank.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A New Home

'_What…happened?'_ Lucius' eyes opened and shut slowly. The sun was shining above, and his eyes weren't adjusted, stinging his eyes. He tried moving his paws, but they were asleep. Shaking his paws awake, he tried standing but only succeeded in falling hard on his chest. "Ouch!" He yelped as he landed on his tails. Getting up slowly, making sure nothing was broken; Lucius tried taking a few steps. After walking around for a bit in a circle, his tails had stopped hurting and his legs didn't feel like a Ditto.

Looking around, Lucius noticed that he was in a forest. He was in a circle of trees, but he didn't see any other Pokémon around. Lucius sat on his read and cried. Eventually, he tired and laid down, resting his head on his paws. The tears had stopped and he just lay there, thinking about the good times he had with his parents. His mom always licking his head trying to fix his hair, his dad always telling him to be nice to his mother when she did that, and Lucius always ignoring them and pulling away. The tears started anew.

After the fresh batch of tears dried out, he felt his stomach rumble. Looking around, Lucius saw some berries on a bush and with another rumble of his stomach, he walked over for lunch. He recognized them as Bluk berries, and he swallowed them down. After felling as if his stomach would burst, he walked over, lay down and went to sleep.

"_Lucius! Help me!" His mom screamed, the flames engulfing her. "Why didn't you save me?" she yelled, the flames dispelling from her body. Her eyes were staring him down, striking him with guilt._

"_I tried mommy! I really did! I went in and tried to save you, but you and dad were gone!" Lucius yelled, putting his head on his paws on the ground, leaving his rear in the air, the Vulpix sign of submission._

"_Why didn't you help your mother?" Lucius' dad materialized from the flames. Lucius stared at his dad, his eyes welling up with tears. "She was screaming in pain, and you didn't do anything!" He yelled._

"_I did…I did…I did…" Lucius said, before the two demonic Ninetails blitzed him._

Lucius woke up screaming, his eyes watery. Guilt welled up inside of him when he recounted his nightmare. Had he failed his parents? Had he really let them burn in the fire? _'No, their Flash Fire ability would have protected them from the fire. But what if the smoke killed them then the flames consumed their bodies.'_ He thought, his eyes welling up with tears.

The moon hung in the sky, as Lucius looked up it seemed to be mocking him. Lucius tried to build up an Ember to blast the moon, but he couldn't summon the flame inside his body. He could still remember the feeling he had the first time he used Ember. His entire body seemed to alight with fire. He had felt almost invincible, as if he could take any foe. But now, he felt empty. He felt as if his body had been drained of all energy, all fire. And he didn't know why.

Laying down, Lucius thought about everything that happened to him leading up to the fire. He had fought Tyrogue and beat him using Ember, then he and Gallade had beat Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Tyrogue, Gallade doing most of the fighting and Lucius had stepped in and used Quick Attack to stop Hitmonchan from beating Gallade while he was down. After that, Lucius had broken into his burning house and searched for his parents. After being unable to find them, he left. After running, he collapsed and he was attack by a shadowy figure.

"Did that shadowy thing drain my powers?" Lucius asked himself silently. Deciding to test it out, Lucius ran as fast as he could towards a tree. He entered a Quick Attack speed and struck the tree, making a snap and throwing him backwards. His head didn't hurt, meaning his Quick Attack still worked. "My fire powers are gone, but my Quick Attack still works? What's happening to me?" he whispered to himself. He tried several times to recall his Ember powers several times, but each time he met with failure. Lucius eventually got tired and laid down to try to get some sleep. He was met by nightmares.

Lucius woke up, refreshed but still sad. His heart felt as if it was torn into a million pieces. He walked over to the Bluk berry bush and ate some berries, thinking about his parents. After eating, Lucius decided that staying in the forest wouldn't be the best idea. He looked around at the trees, and found moss on one, and walked in that direction. While he was walking, Lucius looked around and saw Pokémon in the trees, bushes and on the ground. All of them looked at Jack, than looked away, living their lives peacefully in the forest. There was a soothing atmosphere in the air.

Lucius saw a Spinarak family climbing up and down a tree, and decided to ask for directions. "Excuse me, do you know where there's a village around here?" Lucius asked politely.

One of the Spinarak looked at him and climbed down. "There is one just down the road in this direction." The Spinarak said in a feminine voice pointing in the direction he was heading.

"Thank you." Lucius replied with a smile. Turning, he walked away.

After walking for a while, Lucius heard voices talking in a clearing. He didn't want to interrupt, so he snuck up and looked through a bush. He saw four Pokémon playing with each other. They were acting like they were battling each other. Lucius saw a Chikorita with a bow on her leaf, a Cyndaquil running around, his flames burning outrageously, a Totodile with his teeth gleaming as he smiled. Then Lucius' eyes fell on _her._

It was a Vulpix with an orange necklace around her neck. She was running next to the Chikorita, smiling and enjoying her time. Lucius could tell the Vulpix was female by her alluring scent. He felt his face go hot as he watched her running and tackling the Totodile. As he stood on his back legs to get a better look, he tripped and fell over the bush.

The four stopped immediately, looking at Lucius. They formed a line and moved away from him. "Who are you?!" the Cyndaquil barked, taking a step forward. He was in an aggressive stance, looking as if he would attack Lucius.

"I'm…Lucius. I'm lost." Lucius said, looking down helplessly. Lucius didn't want to fight, especially with his fire powers temporarily, or permanently he though grimly, gone.

"What are you doing in our play area?" the Totodile asked, taking courage in Cyndaquil's aggressiveness.

"I told you, I'm lost!" Lucius yelled. He hated having to repeat himself.

"Boy, stop it. He's lost." The Vulpix said. Lucius went hot again, when he felt something warm and wet sliding down his cheek. "Oh, you cut yourself." She said. She walked over. "This is going to sting," she said before standing on her back legs and licking Lucius' cheek. Lucius thought he would die of overheating. The Chikorita was giggling intensely as she watched, while the Cyndaquil looked mad.

"There you go." She said, sitting on all four of her paws. She looked at Lucius expectantly. "Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't introduced ourselves have we?" She asked. "I'm Bella."

The Chikorita walked up next to Bella. "I'm Chika." She said with smile. Looking over her shoulder, she jerked her head towards Lucius while looking at Cyndaquil and Totodile.

"I'm Croc," the Totodile said with a grin that revealed all his razor teeth as he walked up.

The Cyndaquil walked up slowly, glaring at Lucius. "I'm Flare."

Lucius looked at the rag-tag group of Pokémon. "Where are you guys from? Do you live in the forest?" Lucius asked them. They all chuckled humorlessly.

"No, we all live in Dweder, a Pokémon village just past the boundaries of the forest. We are you from?" Bella asked.

"I lived in Kojer." Lucius replied. They all looked bewildered. "You guys haven't heard of it?"

"I haven't. Have you guys?" Chika asked. They all shook their heads.

"Is this East or West of Mount Konge?" Lucius asked uncertainly.

"Dweder is east of Mount Konge." Croc said, taking a moment to think about it.

"Great…" Lucius sighed, his head and ears drooping.

Bella looked at him with a sad expression masking her face. She leaned forward, took a step back, then walked forward and licked his cheek again, to cheer him up. "Well, you could stay with my family for a while…you know…if you need to…" she said, her face glowing red.

Lucius' head perked up. "Umm…thanks Bella.' Lucius said his face red. They looked away from each other shyly, while Lucius heard Chika giggling again.

"How about we show Lucius around town since he'll be staying here, at least for a little while." Chika said enthusiastically. Bella and Croc agreed almost immediately, while Flare was still glaring at Lucius, until he finally agreed. "Great! Hey, let's race! Ready? Set? Go!" Chika yelled. They all bolted, but Lucius stayed behind two of them at all times, not sure how to get there. Chika, Croc and Flare tired out quickly while Lucius and Bella kept running, stopping every once and a while to allow the others to catch up.

Lucius' mind was awhirl. While he missed his parents, he felt feelings for Bella that he hadn't felt for anyone else. He didn't know what these feelings were, but he had a lot more energy then he did normally. What were these feelings?

After running for a while, Lucius and Bella grew tired and stopped, walking alongside the others. "So Lucius, what moves can you use? I can use Tackle and Razor Leaf." Chika boasted, puffing out her chest.

"We all know Chika. You brag so much about it. I can use Water Gun and Scratch." Croc said, as if it wasn't a huge accomplishment.

"I can use Tackle and Smokescreen." Flare said. He had stopped glaring at Lucius and had warmed up to him slightly.

"I can use Tackle and Quick Attack." Bella said, looking away in embarrassment. "I can't use Ember." She said, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Don't worry about it Bella." Lucius assured her with a smile. She looked at him with a quizzical expression. "I can only use Tackle and Quick Attack. I was able to use Ember but I can't now…" Lucius said sheepishly. "Look." He tried to summon energy, but he was surprised. He felt the energy build up inside him, similar to how it did when he attacked Tyrogue. The energy raced up his throat and burst out of his mouth, flying through the air and exploding.

"You can too use Ember!" Chika yipped.

"I wasn't able to before…It felt as if it was gone…" Lucius replied confused. "Bella, why don't you try? I can try to teach you if you'd like."

"OK," Bella said. Closing her eyes, she pulled her lips back and opened her mouth. All that came out was smoke. A single tear ran down her cheek. Lucius felt bad, and leaned over and licked her cheek.

"I think you're concentrating too hard." Lucius explained. "Try to envision a fire building up, and feel the heat consume your body. Then imagine the flame racing up your throat and out your mouth."

After several unsuccessful attempts, Bella finally made a huge fireball appear, exploding a few feet away from them and making her orange necklace sparkle. Her eyes went wide with excitement, and she jumped around, yipping and laughing. Everyone was congratulating her, when she went over and gave Lucius a hug. "Thanks so much, Lucius!" she said, a huge smile on her face.

"No problem…" Lucius responded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Hey, we're here!" Chika said.

**Hello all. Lucius has met new friends that will help him in the impending adventure of his. I do not own Pokémon or have any allegiance to them in any way. I just love the games and merchandise =)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A Dweder Tour

Lucius looked over and saw that Chika was right. Dweder was right in front of them, and Lucius looked out in astonishment. There were buildings all around and he could see Pokémon running around. "C'mon Lucius! I wanna show you around!" Chika said, grabbing onto Lucius' ear playfully with her mouth and pulling him towards the town. He whimpered playfully, but allowed her to drag him along.

Bella and Chika took the lead, walking ahead confidently. "Hey, Croc." Lucius whispered.

"Yeah Lucius?" Croc answered, sidling up beside him.

"So, why are they always energetic? Like, why are they always in the lead?" Lucius asked, watching Bella and Chika bounce around happily as they led the boys down the trail.

"Well, Chika's been like that since the day I met her. But Bella wasn't like that before you came along. She was shy and withdrawn, like she didn't really like anyone but her parents. She's changed in maybe an hour." Croc said, grinning while looking at Lucius. "I think she likes you…" he snickered.

Lucius turned red. "She does not. She just…I don't know…" Lucius mumbled. Flare and Croc guffawed while Lucius ran up to be next to Bella and Chika.

"So Chika, what's in this town?" Lucius asked, trying to not look at Bella to much.

"A lot! There are always travelers coming through, so a lot of different Pokémon live there. And there are a lot of shops set up to buy stuff that the travelers sell. And there are pools, training gyms…" she went on; listing off almost every small amusement you could think of. But Lucius was only paying half attention. He was trying hard not to, but he couldn't stop looking at Bella, who couldn't stop looking ahead, her eyes flickering towards him every so often.

Lucius had spent a lot of time thinking about why he was attracted to her. Why had these feelings suddenly appeared? He had only known her for maybe an hour. Why? Why is he feeling this?

"Lucius? Hey LUCIUS!" Chika yelled blissfully. She was so loud it startled Lucius and he tripped, causing Bella to giggle, but stop abruptly. "We're here, and we're gonna give you the Poké crew tour!" she said, pushing him from behind.

They came up to a long alley teeming with Pokémon. There were stalls set up on both sides of the street, with all sorts of Pokémon trying to sell goods. "This is Merchant Row. This is where you come for anything. Food, jewelery, TMs, anything. You name it and you will probably find it." Chika explained as they sat at the entrance. "Psst! Just to let you know, I am pretty sure you can't find Elemental stones here. You know, in case you want to top up. You want to walk through?" Before he could reply, they shoved him in.

The street was crowded, but all the Pokémon shopping were fully grown, and five kids could easily squeeze through. As they walked, a Marowak called to them. "Chika, Flare, Croc, Bella! How are my favorite Poké kids doing today?" he asked in a cheerful tone. Lucius swiveled around as the others ran up excitedly. Standing in front of a stand was a Marowak, on the top of his skull helmet was a purple hat with a red plume feather on top. He had a bone, sharpened to a point at one end with the bone untouched on the other. He kept one claw on the flat end, leaning on it for balance. "Ho-ho! And who would this be?" the Marowak asked, taking an interest in Lucius.

"Oh! Bone, this is Lucius. We found him today wandering out in the woods." Flare explained, looking at the stand for anything he liked.

"Oh! Well, any friend of these devils is a friend of mine." Bone said enthusiastically. "This is my shop. You want something, lemme know, alright? So, what are you kids doing here? Didn't you get in trouble last time?"

"Hey! That wasn't our fault. That Charmeleon was asking for it." Croc muttered, stomping his foot. Lucius chuckled. "Anyway, we are showing Lucius around town."

"Oh, what a marvelous idea, well, hope to see you around sometime soon." With a flourishing bow, he turned and vanished behind his stand.

"No matter how many times I meet him, I never get over how strange he is." Flare remarked, walking over to them. "Are you guys ready to show Lucius to the pools?"

Lucius was amazed when he saw the pools. There wasn't just one pool; it was a bunch of pools linked together by incredibly small waterfalls and cracks that transferred water between each. There were Pokémon of all types relaxing and laying by the pools. The atmosphere seemed to glow with relaxation. Lucius almost felt all his worries and fears disappear. "Relaxing, isn't it?" Bella said as she sat next to Lucius. They all sat on a hill overlooking the pool area. There was a tree behind them with Oran berries, and the sun was slowly setting. Chika, Flare and Croc had fallen asleep laying against the tree bark. Lucius just stared at the pool in amazement with Bella next to him. They were both wagging their tails happily, when she moved hers over and intertwined with his. Lucius felt his face go warm, looking over he saw that she was blushing.

She pulled her tails away, looking at the ground. "It's beautiful." Lucius said uncertainly. He looked at the pools again. There were several fire types swimming around, and that gave Lucius an idea. "Want to go swimming?" he asked Bella. She looked at him, smiled and nodded. "Let's wake the others up." He said, walking over. He was about to pat Croc, when he got a flash of inspiration. "Watch this," he whispered to Bella. She was confused, but soon caught on to his idea. Aiming their heads, they released an Ember attack at the tree, knocking down several Oran berries. The berries fell on Chika, Croc and Flare's heads. Yelping in surprise, they looked around only to see Lucius and Bella rolling on the ground laughing hysterically. Growling, they started to chase the two. Lucius and Bella led them down towards the pools where they ran, readied and leaped into the water. As soon as Lucius felt the cool water swallow him up, he felt relaxed. It didn't hurt as if a water-type Pokémon squirted him with water. It was a great sensation, like when he took a bath, but the water seemed more serene, more pure. As he came up for air, he saw Bella floating next to him, a smile on her face.

"Bella! Shouldn't you take off your necklace before it gets ruined?" Lucius asked, concerned.

"No, water doesn't affect it. But Chika's bows going to be ruined." She giggled. Her laughter was music to his ears. He saw Croc pushing Flare in then diving in after them, disturbing a few of the older Pokémon, while Chika struggled to get out of the bow tied to the leaf on her head. Lucius laughed as he saw Flare come up, panicking only to realize the water didn't harm him. After getting the water out of his eyes, he and Croc swam over to Lucius and Bella.

"Wow, I love water…" Croc said, floating on his back with his eyes closed blissfully.

Flare eyed him. "Well no duh, you're a water type. But this water is nice…" he added.

"I'm going to help Chika out of her bow." Bella told them, swimming to the side and trying to get out. She couldn't get a firm hold, so Lucius swam over and put his head under her back paw, giving her leverage and allowing her to climb out. She thanked him and walked over to Chika. Lucius felt water splash behind his head.

"Hey!" he yelped. He saw Flare on his back kicking water at him.

"Oops, sorry Lucius. Didn't see you there." He guffawed, swimming away quickly. Lucius gave chase, catching up quickly and pushing and holding Flare underwater. After Flare got up, Croc grabbed Lucius' feet and dragged him under. Opening his eyes, Lucius saw Croc waving happily, than swimming away. The surface water broke, and he saw Chika and Bella breaking for the surface. Realizing he was about to run out of breath himself, he swam up and broke the water.

And they all laughed. Lucius felt as if he had been friends with them for a lifetime. They all got along so well, as if they were meant to be friends. Chika's leaf fell over her right eye, and she shook her head. The leaf covered her left eye. Bella laughed as Chika tried to get the leaf out of here eyes, while Croc, Flare and Lucius chased each other around. They would have continued all night long until a Swampert came up. "Hey you kids, its time for you to be getting home!" He yelled at them.

They all got out, Chika picking up her bow and asking Bella and Croc to help her tie it to her head. Lucius pawed the ground, knowing he had no place to stay. Bella saw this, "Umm… Lucius, since you have no place to stay, maybe my parents will let you stay with us." Her face turned red, but Lucius know she didn't regret it.

"Thanks Bella."

After the friends went their separate ways, Bella and Lucius raced to her house. They arrived out of breath, but Bella kept walking. When they got to her house, she smacked the door with her paw. "OK, my parents are nice most of the time, but I've never asked if a boy could spend the night." She said before the door swung open. There were two Ninetails looking down at him

"Sweetie, I told you not to come home so late. Hold on, your hair is messed up." Bella's mother bent over and licked her head, and Bella pulled away, sending Lucius into a flashback, but he was quickly pulled back. "And who is this young boy?" she asked after finishing grooming her daughter.

"Mommy, daddy, this is Lucius. My friends and I found him lost in the forest. He lives in Kojer, it's on the west side of the mountains. He doesn't know how he got here. I was hoping…if he could possibly…spend the…night?" she stammered.

"Absolutely-" her father went.

"Sure he can sweetie," Bella's mother said quickly, glaring at Bella's father. "But he'll have to share your nest." She added.

And Bella lit up like a Fire Blast. "Umm…OK. C…c…c'mon Lucius. We should head on to sleep." She led him to the back of the house, while Lucius heard her mom and dad arguing in the front.

"Bella, I don't want to come between your parents. I can sleep somewhere else." Lucius said as they walked in her room.

"No Lucius. I said you could stay with us. Here's the bed we're going to sleep in." It was a round bed made of leaves on the floor, next to the open window. She yawned, her eyes drooping.

Lucius lowered himself in front of her. "Climb on my back." She was too tired to resist, and she lay herself on him. He walked over slowly and put her down on the bed, which she curled up. Lucius lay next to her, thinking about his parents and what had happened today. But, before his thoughts could carry him away, Bella shuffled backwards into his paws, adding their body warmth. Lucius felt his face go red, but looked at her face. She was so serene, so beautiful…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Differences Between Love and Friendship

"_Why didn't you help me Lucius?" His mother screamed, the flames engulfing her fur, blackening his once lustrous color. _'No, not this dream again!' _"You could have pulled me out, and I would have survived!"_

"_Lucius, I'm disappointed in you. Your mother and I burned to death. But you didn't care, did you? You just wanted to be popular." His father's wraith taunted him, his eyes burning a demonic red._

"_NO!" Lucius roared in outrage. "I tried to save you! Neither you nor your bodies were inside the house! You're not dead! You can't be dead! So DISAPPEAR!" Lucius roared with all his might. The two wraiths dispersed into smoke, which sailed away as if a gust of wind carried them. The black room Lucius was locked in was flooded with a bright light._

"_Lucius, Lucius dear are you alright?" Bella asked, her face a mask of concern._

"_Yeah, I had the worst dream…" Lucius explained, his forehead sweating furiously._

"_The one where your parents burned to death in the fire?" she asked a light smile on her face._

"_Yeah, no matter what happens that dream is just waiting to resurface." _

"_It wasn't a dream!" Bella yelled, and she was engulfed in the flames. Lucius screamed in agony._

Lucius' eye shot open. He was sweating, and the sweat stung his eyes. A gentle breeze flowed in through the window, brushing Lucius' fur. He looked around, but he saw no sign of Bella. _'Maybe I was screaming and she left?'_ Lucius thought with a pang of guilt. Deciding that a walk would clear out his head, he got up and strolled outside.

Bella was sitting there, her head tilted back to look at the moon in its silvery glory. Lucius took a half step forward, took a deep breath, and walked up next to her. She gasped in surprise, but exhaled calmly when she realized it was Lucius. "The moon's beautiful tonight, isn't it Lucius?" she asked in her gentle voice. Her eyes sparkled as she stared, her mouth stuck in a smile.

"It is…" Lucius agreed. Daring himself, he moved his tails and intertwined them with Bella's. She blushed, but she didn't pull away. Lucius took that as a good sign. "So…where did you get your necklace? It's quite breathtaking."

"Oh, it was a present from my grandpa, he's an Arcanine, by the way. He said he found these orange jewels and brought them back while he was exploring. He had them made into this necklace, and gave them to me during my last birthday." She touched the necklace gently with her paw. "But in two weeks, on my tenth birthday, my parents are sending me out on my own. You know, the Vulpix Test of Fire? At ten years of age all Vulpix are sent out from the nest to make a family of their own."

"Two weeks, exactly?" Lucius asked. Bella nodded. "That's my birthday also. My parents weren't going to because I couldn't use Ember, but now they probably would."

Bella seemed to blush. "Lucius, do you like me?" she asked, and Lucius felt his temperature rise dramatically.

"Of course I like you, as a friend I mean." Lucius replied, looking away. Their tails were still intertwined.

"No, I mean…more than that. When I saw you, I felt, strange. I've never felt that before, not even for my parents, I think, I love you…" Lucius felt faint. Apparently she did too, because she fell onto her stomach. Lucius laid down next to her.

"I felt, the same way…I felt that feeling you described when I first saw you." He said. His body was cooling, but his heart was pounding.

"You know we have to find mates after the Test starts, right?" Lucius asked. Bella nodded. "Well, we feel this way for each other, maybe…we are meant to be mates?" Lucius' heart felt as if it would explode.

"Maybe we are…" her voice was squeaky. She turned towards him, and he turned towards her, they leaned in towards each other, and kissed, and that kiss made it final: they were now mates for life. As they pulled away, Lucius' heart was pounding, almost as if it would bounce out of his throat. One look at Bella, his new mate, and he could tell she felt the same way.

"It's settled then." Lucius smiled. They leaned in and kissed again, more for the feel of it then the sealing of their joining as mates. Pokémon were monogamous, meaning they only had one mate in their life time. So the decision wasn't to be taken lightly. Bella and Lucius knew that. "Now, we should go back to sleep. Climb on," he said. She got up and laid down on his back. Lucius felt stronger then ever, as if his entire body was rejuvenated. He carried her back to her nest. When he got there, she was already sleeping, and Lucius gently put her down, again he thought with a smile. He settled down next to her, getting close to her so to keep her warm, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Lucius was awakened by Bella shaking his paw. "Lucius, wake up. Mommy and daddy have breakfast prepared." She looked at him dreamily. He got up, stretching all his limbs. Lucius saw her staring at him.

"What?" he asked with a half laugh. She just shook her head.

"Nothing, I just feel a lot closer to you now. Do you…regret what we did last night? Do you regret us becoming mates?" she asked nervously.

"Zero regrets. I'm glad we're mates. I honestly didn't think I would ever find a mate." Lucius told her with a smile.

"I didn't think I would either." Lucius licked her cheek and she giggled. Then her stomach rumbled and Lucius laughed.

"I'm hungry…carry me?" she asked. Lucius laughed and nipped her ear.

"Nope. Next time, you're carrying me!" He added before walking out. Bella couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

As soon as Lucius was outside, Bella's father attacked him. "What did you do to my baby!?!" He screamed hysterically. He tried to bite Lucius but Lucius was quicker then the elderly Ninetales. "What did you do to her!?!"

"Nothing! I love her!" Lucius yelled, staying back. He didn't want to attack his mate's father, lest he make her angry.

"Daddy! I love him!" Bella screamed, jumping in front of Lucius before her dad could attack him again.

"You do not know what love is!" He snarled. He walked over and picked her up by the scruff of her neck. She squirmed and yelled but couldn't get loose.

"Put her down!" Jack screamed. His eyes felt strange, and before he knew what was happening, he shot two rays out of his eyes that hit Bella's father _'Confuse Ray'_ he thought to himself. When they connected, he started to wobble. He dropped Bella who ran whimpering to her mother, who sat aside watching passively, fear in her eyes. Bella's father was swaying, unable to stand on his feet. He tried to run forward to attack Lucius, but fell. That's when Lucius charged, landing on the enraged Ninetales' chest. "Listen to me!" Lucius yelled in his face.

"No…you stole my baby…" he tried to yell. Lucius saw no other choice, baring his fangs, he gently bit Ninetales' throat.

"Do you yield?" He mumbled. The proud Ninetales stubbornly shook his head no. That's when Lucius felt the scruff of _his _neck being pulled.

"Now son, don't attack your Father like that." Bella's mother scolded him through her teeth. "You're our son now, and I won't have my little boy act like that."

She placed Lucius next to Bella, who crawled over and snuggled next to him, using him as a shield from her father.

"Honey, we knew this was going to happen some day. At least she became the mate of someone she loves and someone who loves her back." Bella's mother said, putting a paw on Bella's father's chest. "Now, I'm not going to let you up until you agree to apologize to Lucius."

"Fine. I'll apologize to Lucius." He muttered quietly.

"What?" Bella's mother, Mom Lucius corrected himself, asked.

"I'll apologize." He growled. She lifted her paw, and he got up, scowling. Walking over, he bowed his head in front of Lucius and Bella. "I'm very sorry Lucius. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. And Bella, I'm sorry for attacking your mate and scaring you."

"It's fine sir." Lucius said politely.

"That's no way to talk to your dad." He said with a smile. "Sorry son."

Lucius beamed at him, and Bella walked out next to him. "Well I'm starving, can we eat?" She asked.

"Hold on honey, your hair is messed up." Bella's mom bent over and licked her hair, and Bella pulled away. "Oh my goodness, Lucius, your hair is messed up as well." She licked his hair, but he didn't pull away. "Maybe we should trade Lucius for Bella, he isn't embarrassed."

"What's wrong with you? Doesn't that embarrass you?" Bella asked Lucius as they walked over to a blanket laid out on the grass with berries in a small basket.

"My mom used to do that, and I miss her." Lucius told her. She gave him an inquisitive look. "I'll tell you about my life before appearing here later, it's a long story."

"Well, **our **mom," Bella said, "does it a lot, so you won't like it in a month." Their mom heard her and, running over as silently as she could, toppled Bella over and tickled her stomach until she wheezed and begged her mom to stop.

Lucius chuckled, than he was knocked over and tickled on the stomach by his dad. "What are you laughing at son?" he growled playfully.

After the playful atmosphere faded away, they all sat on the blanket to an excess of berries. It was almost as if…

"Bella! Lucius! Hey you guys!" Chika ran up, a purple bow tied to her leaf again. Flare and Croc were wheezing and barely jogging up after her. "So, Lucius since you met her parents you're meeting ours today." Croc and Flare nodded feebly.

"Glad you guys got our letter. Feel free to join us for breakfast." Bella's mom said. Chika, Flare and Croc sat on the blanket and everyone dug in. Lucius and Bella sat snug up against each other, Lucius humming and intertwining his tails with Bella's. He didn't know if Chika, Flare and Croc knew they were mates, but he wanted to ask Bella before telling them.

Everyone was in a great mood. Chika told jokes, Croc juggled berries with his Water Gun, and Flare put berries on the fire on his back, than took them out without them being burnt. Lucius and Bella decided to show her parents her new talent. They aimed there heads and shot a double Ember into the air that exploded into a fiery display of beauty. Their parents leaped up and embraced Bella in a hug. "Honey, why didn't you tell us you learned Ember?" their mom asked excitedly.

"Because I forgot, but I didn't learn it. Lucius taught it to me." And Lucius was included into the hug.

"Okay, since we're done eating breakfast, can we steal Lucius and Bella? We haven't finished showing him around town." Chika asked, giving Bella's parents a pout face.

"Okay, but you kids don't get into trouble!" As the five friends ran away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

How'da Know?

Chika, Flare, Croc and Bella were racing towards the town to show Lucius around more. Lucius was running behind them, thinking about how to tell them that Bella and he were mates now. Would they think he stole one of their friends from them? Or would they be happy about it, or would they care?

"What do you want to do in two weeks Bella? I voted staying in the pool all day." Croc said Lucius looked at him strangely. Wasn't it Bella's birthday?

"I wanted to go to the park and lay in the flowers all day." Chika said, sighing in happiness.

"I didn't care so I went with Croc's idea." Flare told them with a shrug.

Lucius jumped in, "Isn't it Bella's birthday? Why don't we let her decide."

They all looked at him strangely. "It's all our birthdays Lucius. We always vote on the matter. So what do you want to do?" Chika asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"It can't be coincidence that it's all our birthdays." Lucius said, looking at all of them. They all gaped at him, except Bella.

"It's your birthday to? There is no way its coincidence." Flare muttered.

"Can we leave the mechanists out of this? I don't want a headache trying to rack my brain for answers. Bella, Lucius, what do you guys want to do?" Chika asked impatiently.

"I'll go to the flower fields with you Chika." Bella reassured Chika with a smile.

"Well, it's a tie. Lucius, your vote will decide it. Do you want to go to the pool or flower field?" Croc asked eagerly. Four pairs of eager Pokémon eyes fell on him. Lucius was drawn into Bella's.

"We're going…" he said, and they all leaned in. "To the flower fields." Croc and Flare looked betrayed while Chika yipped in excitement and Bella snuggled up to Lucius.

"Oh! Lucius you never told me what happened to your parents before you arrived here." Bella said, her head snapping up and her eyes widening.

"Well, it goes like this…" and Lucius dove into his life story, while Bella and Chika listened intently and Croc and Flare fell asleep.

When Lucius finished, Bella jumped up and licked his cheek. "I'm sad about what happened to your parents. But I'm sure they're still alive. If they weren't there, they were probably on a…" she grinned. "Date." Chika giggled intensely.

"Oh! We…" she said, kicking Croc and Flare in the head, "still need to get you guys a present."

"For what?" Bella asked, glancing at Lucius who shrugged back.

"Don't act like it's a big secret. Everyone in town probably knows by now that you two are mates." Chika replied, her smile threatening to split her face in two.

Bella and Lucius' jaws dropped about a thousand miles. "How did you know?" Bella whispered.

"Your mom sent a letter in the middle of the night to my mom. She ran around, screaming about how happy she was." Chika answered giggling.

Bella buried her head in her paws. "Now everyone will know…oh my god…" she said. Lucius coughed.

"That brings up another question. How did our parents find out?" Bella's head snapped up.

"They were probably spying on us at night. Knowing my parents, mommy watched us, wrote the letter, than told daddy in the morning." Bella said. "But you guys don't have to get us anything."

"Yes we do! After all, your parents are throwing that party tonight…oops!" She gasped, her eyes wild. Bella put her head in her paws again while Lucius groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please, please, please don't tell them I told you! I'll be in SO much trouble!" Chika begged. Bella and Lucius agreed not to tell.

"But, you know, we could always stay out late at the pool and, you know, not go back to the house." Lucius said with a grin. Chika looked horrified.

"No, they'll ground us. And they'll re-plan the party for another night until they catch us. Best just to get it over it." Chika let out a huge sigh. She realized Flare and Croc were still asleep, so she stormed over and hit them both on their heads.

"Party tonight! Crap!" Croc yelled when he woke up. "Uummm…there isn't a party. That was just a dream. Yeah, just a dream." He said hastily.

"Shut up they already know. We need to go to Merchant Row and pick them out a present. C'mon." Chika said, grabbing Croc by his feet and dragging him while he kicked and screamed all the way. Flare groggily walked after them with Bella and Lucius bringing up the rear, both dreading that evening.

They came upon Merchant Row, which was unusually empty, and Chika squeeled. Standing near a stall were two full grown Meganiums, and behind them was a female Bayleef, looking at jewels on a stall. "That's my parents and my big sister, why are they here?" Chika said after diving behind Croc.

"Maybe they're buying these two gifts, you know, for the party." He suggested, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"But if they see us here buying stuff with Lucius and Bella, they'll know that they'll know!" Chika squeaked.

"So…Lucius, Bella, how about you look around here and we'll sneak in and buy something. Then we'll tell Chika's parents that we lost you two, bought our gift for you and than we'll 'accidentally' bump into you and introduce you." Flare suggested sleepily, his eyes still droopy.

"Sure, let's go Lucius." Bella said, running into Merchant Row with Lucius right behind, when they were stopped by Bone.

"So, you two are mates now, huh?" he questioned. Lucius couldn't tell, but if he had to hazard a guess he would think Bone was grinning under that skull. "Well, stay right here, I have something for you two." He disappeared behind his stall again.

"Not that I regret it, but becoming mates is a lot of trouble." Lucius said.

Bella giggled, "Yeah, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." She said, leaning over and kissing Lucius.

"Neither would I, but it's still a lot of trouble." Lucius said with a bark. Bone walked back out with two boxes in his hands.

"Here you go Lucius, this is for you. Bella might need to help you." Opening the box in his left hand, he gave Lucius an orange bandana. "It's a Lucky bandana; it brings good luck to the wearer good luck." Bella took it in her mouth, stood on her two back paws and tied it around Lucius' neck.

"It looks cute on you Lucius." Bella told him.

"Thanks Bone. Maybe I can get lucky and not have to go to the party tonight…" Lucius mumbled, but Bella heard him and swatted him on the back of the head with her paw.

"You know? Well, no point in not speaking about it. I'm going out of town for a week, and I'm leaving tonight. And this other gift is for the both of you." He handed them the box. It was dark blue with a blue ribbon around it. Bella went to undo the bow. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. That box holds two Fire stones, hard to find and hard to obtain. When you two feel ready to top up into parent hood, open that box, but until then, enjoy your time as kids, because it doesn't last." He said with a twirl of his bone club.

"Thank you so much Bone." Bella gave him a hug. "It saves us the trouble of having to find two ourselves."

"Thanks Bone." Lucius and Bone shook hands.

"Lucius! Bella!" Chika yelled. Turning, they waved at her before turning back to say good-bye to Bone, but he was gone.

"My parents want to meet you two. Act as if you don't know there's a party." She said before pushing them ahead. The two Meganium were looking at another stall and their daughter was between them. Chika coughed. They swiveled their heads and grinned when they saw Lucius and Bella sitting next to their youngest daughter.

"This must be the new couple." One of the Meganiums said in a masculine voice. His wife stood next to them and Lucius felt tiny in comparison to the two gargantuans.

"Daaaaaaaad…" Chika whined. "Can you not be embarrassing?" she asked.

"Sorry sis, that's Dad for you." The Bayleef said, standing in front of the kids. "I'm Bailey, Chika's older sister." She said, shaking hands with Bella and Lucius.

"Nice to meet you." Bella and Lucius said in unison. "And nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Meganium." They said, looking at each other and grinning.

Flare and Croc ran up. "There you guys are, my parents are here and they wanna meet you two!" Flare said.

"They can wait; my parents first!" Croc said enthusiastically. They glared at each other.

"How about you bring your parents together then we walk in, looking for you two." Lucius suggested. Nodding slowly, never taking their eyes of each other, Flare and Croc ran off looking for their parents.

"Was that lil' Flare and Croc?" Mrs. Meganium asked. "We haven't seen them in ages, and their parents…Let's go see them. Come dear," with an apology, Chika and her family walked off.

Lucius looked at Bella, and she smiled. "See what I mean? Total fiasco." Lucius chuckled. They heard Croc and Flare call them and they walked over.

"Hmm…the new couple?" A Typhlosion asked in a feminine voice. Croc, Flare and Chika were sitting with their families. Flare was with his parents, two Typhlosians, the one who asked them holding an egg in a blanket. Croc was with two Feraligatrs and two Croconaws. The two Croconaws walked up.

"So, you are the two who our parents won't stop talking about. I'm Gator." One said in a deep voice.

"I'm Alli. Ignore my twin brother, he's an idiot." She said with a smile. Gator looked livid.

"And ignore my sister, she's an idiot." Croc whispered.

"Nice to meet you two." Mr. Feraligatr walked up, shaking Lucius and Bella's hand.

"Bella, I'm so happy for you. I hope you and Lucius here have long and great lives." Mrs. Feraligatr said, holding her egg.

"Thank you, and I'm sure we will." Bella replied with a smile.

"Oh, look at the time…we have to get going." Mrs. Meganium said, leading her husband, daughter, Flare's parents and Croc's family away. Flare, Croc and Chika were left with Lucius and Bella.

"Heading to the party no doubt." Flare said. "In about an hour, we're supposed to take you back to your house and than everyone jumps out and screams 'Surprise!'."

"Do we have to go?" Lucius asked Bella. She bit his ear playfully, and he whimpered.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Not a Surprise Party!

The next hour flew by as the five Poké friends ran around town, trying to pass the time. Chika's purple bow was bouncing around as she bounced with joy. "Chika, why are you so happy?" Lucius asked. "You're always so full of energy."

"It's the sun. It energizes me, and I'm more excited today because of your party. I mean, you two are mates! Come on, how are you guys not excited?" She almost yelled.

"We are…" Bella started, "it's just we were kind of hoping to keep it secret for a while. It went so fast we didn't have time to discuss the future."

"Yeah, it's just…FUTURE?!?" Lucius yelped. "Oh, future, yeah…" His face lit up like the sun. Bella gave him a sour look, one that said _'Oh we __**are **__going to talk about that, don't worry.'_ Lucius was worried.

"OK, well its been about an hour. So," Chika winked. "Bella, Lucius how about we head back to your house?" she asked loudly.

"Are you serious?" Bella whispered, Chika nodded. "Ok Chika, let's go back to my house." Bella replied just as loudly, while Lucius, Flare and Croc fell over laughing. Bella and Chika glared at them.

"I'm sorry honey, but you two are too funny. They don't have spies watching us." Lucius apologized, licking Bella's cheek. She grinned sheepishly and forgave him. "We might as well start back." Lucius sighed.

Chika jumped up. "Yeah, I'm ready to get my party on!" She ran ahead. Lucius and Bella, giving each other one last glance, started to run after her, with Flare and Croc bringing up the rear.

When they got to the house, it was dark and there wasn't anybody around. "Why is the house dark?" Lucius asked, putting himself slightly in front of Bella, in case there was danger.

"I don't know, but it's kind of creepy." Bella stammered. Lucius knew she was timid, but she could be brave when needed.

"SURPRISE!" A crowd roared behind them. Bella and Lucius jumped ten feet in the air, while Chika, Croc and Flare had their ears covered. Turning, their hearts still pounding like an angry Poliwrath's Bell Drum, they saw their family, their friends' families, and a lot of strangers Lucius didn't recognize but by her look, Bella did.

"Oh my goodness! Mommy, daddy, you organized this?" Bella asked, embracing her parents in a hug. Her mom pulled Lucius over.

"After learning you two were mates, I alerted all our friends, even though some were mad to be woken up in the middle of the night…" she said while some in the background chuckled.

Turning, she addressed the gathered Pokémon. "Thank you all for coming and setting this up on such short notice. Our lovely daughter, Bella, has chosen Lucius, a stranger to these parts, as her mate. While they didn't know each other for a long time, they love each other immeasurably, and I'm sure they'll spend the rest of their lives together."

The crowd started clapping, while Bella's dad stepped forward. "I hate to admit it, but this morning when I found out, I attacked Lucius." The crowd gasped. "Yes, I'm ashamed of my actions, but all I saw was some stranger who stole my daughter away from me. But he fought me bravely, managing to pin me, all for my daughter. I have no doubt he will protect her, even at the cost of his life."

Lucius nodded. _'I would die for her. She will be my entire future and my life.'_ Bella's mom nodded at Bella, and she stepped forward.

"I met Lucius just yesterday afternoon. When he fell over a bush while watching me and my friends playing in the woods, my heart pounded. I felt something I couldn't put into words. That night, while he was staying with my family, I snuggled close to him, but while he fell asleep, I couldn't. I sat outside, looking at the moon to gather my thoughts. He followed me outside, and we pledged our love for each other. I am ready and willing to spend the rest of my life with him." She said, touching her orange necklace.

Lucius walked up to her and sat on his rear and licked his lips nervously. "I woke up in the forest yesterday, in a daze. I didn't know where I was or what had happened. After walking for hours, my eyes fell on Bella." He looked over at her, "And my daze was replaced with nothing describable, but ultimately I couldn't remember my life before her. She was stuck in my mind, every thought, image and smell reminded me of her. My memories of friends and school, she was burned into them. She was kind enough to offer her home as my own temporarily. That night, I thought about her, and I followed her outside. I had planned to ask her to be my mate when we turned ten and started the Test of Fire, but my heart couldn't wait. We pledged our love, and here I stand, willing to protect her from any and all danger." The crowd clapped again.

Bella cleared her throat, and the clapping stopped. "Can we eat now?" she asked to a round of approval.

"But before we can," Mrs. Ninetales said. She grabbed a red ribbon and tied Bella's and Lucius' paws together. "This represents the bond between you two." Bella and Lucius shrugged and kissed to the roaring approval of the crowd, who surged the food.

The feast that was prepared was magnificent. Berries of all types were there, along with berry juice, apples, fruits, puffins and all sorts of drinks. The food was depleted quickly, when desert was brought out. Everyone stared in awe as Bella's parents announced a kind benefactor's donation. An Old Gateau cake was unveiled, and it was huge. Bella and Lucius fed each other, the ribbon still holding strong. "Don't worry, after the meal you get to burn that off." Mr. Ninetales whispered to them.

"I don't know if I'll want to…" Bella giggled.

"Me neither, this is actually fun." Lucius said, trying not to spill Old Gateau on his new bandana.

Chika ran up behind them. "Ooh, you guys are lucky. The present pile is huge!" She whispered.

"Chika, don't be like that. They aren't doing this for presents…" Flare said.

"Yeah, sure we're not…" Lucius said jokingly. Bella playfully bit his ear, and he whimpered.

Croc, Gator and Alli crept up. "It's time for presents!" They yelled. A lot of Pokémon grabbed their presents and crowded around Lucius and Bella, who proceeded to open them. There was a lot of presents, and Lucius and Bella got tired soon. After all the presents were opened, the party started to die down. Some Pokémon left, and soon only Flare's family, Croc's family, Chika's family and Bella and Lucius' family was left.

"That was great. I had so much fun and my stomach feels as if it's going to burst." Mr. Feraligatr said a broad smile on his face.

"Oh! Lucius, we still have a present for you." Mrs. Ninetales said. "Turn around." Lucius turned but didn't see anything.

"Thank goodness we could come out of the house." A voice said behind Lucius, a voice he recognized and loved dearly.

"I know, we missed all the food…" another voice said. Turning, Lucius saw his mom, dad, and older sisters standing next to Bella, all of them smiling.

"Mommy!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Stop that Sneasel!

"Mommy…dad…sisters!" Lucius whispered. He was paralyzed, but apparently Bella wasn't.

She ran towards them, dragging Lucius across the ground. "Oh my goodness, you're Lucius' parents, it's nice to meet you!" She said, Lucius getting to his feet groggily. Bella turned to Lucius' sisters. "And you're his older sisters?" They nodded.

"I'm Kristi, this is Brandi." One said. "Our mates must be lost…" as soon as the words left her mouth, two Arcanine ran up towards them.

"Wow, this pool is awesome, man!" One said, stepping next to Brandi, who looked radiant.

"We would've stayed there all night, but some Swampert ran up and started losing his mind." The other said, Kristi giving him a disapproving look.

"We would have been here sooner, Lucius but…" Lucius' dad started, Kristi looked like she was about to explode.

"I'm pregnant!" She yelled. Bella squealed with excitement. But Lucius, Croc and Flare looked morbid. Lucius was slapped on the back of the head by Bella.

"Be happy for your sister!" Bella hissed. Speaking up, she said, "Congratulations!" she ran over, dragging Lucius again, and hugged Kristi.

"Congratulations sis." Lucius said, joining the hug. Looking up, he realized how late it was.

"You kids need to get to sleep." Lucius and Bella' moms said at the same time.

"Okay…" Bella said, yawning, "But first, how do you two know each other?" She asked.

"Well, we go way back, we knew each other during our childhood, and we grew up close friends. Lucius' mom moved away when she met his father, and I met your father some time later. When her house burned down, she wrote to me, telling me Lucius was gone and her house burned down. She asked if she could move in with us for a while, I agreed. It became all the better when we met Lucius, and I wrote to her immediately." They grinned at each other. "But enough talking, you all need to go to bed." With that, Bella and Lucius walked inside and up to her room.

"See what I mean? Total fiasco." Lucius said as they burnt the ribbon tying their hands together.

"Yes, but it was nice for everyone to come and congratulate our union." Bella replied, snuggling up to him. He bent over and licked her cheek, she blushed, and tried to stifle a yawn, but couldn't.

"Let's go to sleep Bella." Lucius said. She lay down, and Lucius lay next to her, snuggling close to keep her warm. "Good night, my love." She giggled, and they went to sleep.

Later that night, three figures raced across town stealthily. As they ran, they whispered to each other. "Sneak, you got the bags?" one of the figures asked as they jumped from building to building. They all looked the same, black skin with two gold beads on its head and chest. They had one black ear with one red ear, and two claws on each hand and foot. On their back they had three red feathers. They were slim built, but strong and fast.

"Yeah," Sneak replied, handing his two friends bags. "Remember, we're here for Moon Stones, and anything else is a bonus." They stopped on a building.

"This is the place," one of them said.

"Break it in Thief," Sneak whispered. Leaping down quietly, Thief's claws started to glow. Tracing the outline of the door without making a sound, he looked around nervously. No one could know they were here. After he finished outlining the door, he carefully gripped it and placed it on the ground.

"Great, let's go." The third figure grabbed the ledged and swung inside the hole, the other two following him.

"Jackpot," they all said, clapping claws, as a mountain of gold stared at them. Then Sneak was hit in the back by fire. Screaming, he rolled on the floor, and the other two turned to see a Vulpix, Cyndaquil and Totodile standing in the doorway.

"Lucius, you never explained how you knew these three were breaking in. Oh, and good job using Ember Flare." The Totodile said, looking at the other two.

"I had a strange dream, it was too realistic to be just a dream, and so I decided to check it out." The Vulpix named Lucius said. He growled towards the three Sneasels. "Now, are you three going to leave, or do we have to make you?"

"Oh, we're so scared. Three children, Pickpocket, we should get out of here!" Sneak laughed, the flames having died out. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, and reappeared behind Lucius. "You shouldn't have come." He said before hitting Lucius with Faint Attack. Lucius grimaced as he skid across the ground.

"Shouldn't have done that!" Flare yelled, shooting an Ember that hit Sneak in the face. Sneak screamed and fell on the ground. Totodile raced up and used Bite on Thief, who grimaced, but didn't yell. His claw started to glow.

"Big mistake, brat!" He growled as he smashed his Metal Claw into Totodile, sending him flying. Flare puffed his chest up, and shot out a Smokescreen. Coughs filled the air as the smoke filled up the room, the only way to filter out through the hole in the wall.

"Croc…are you all right?" Lucius called out.

"Yeah, just got a major headache. And I feel mad…" Lucius saw two red eyes glow in the dark. "Rage!" He screamed, flailing wildly as he smashed into Sneak, sending him reeling.

Pickpocket took aim and let an Icy Wind loose, hitting all three friends. Totodile seemed to get stronger while Flare and Lucius struggled to their feet. Totodile raced forward and slammed into Pickpocket, making him grunt in pain. "Croc's gone wild, his Rage has built up to a maximum level." Lucius told Flare. Then Sneak and Thief hit Lucius and Flare with Icy Winds, but they weren't as strong as Pickpocket's.

"Enough!" Lucius screamed, shooting a strong shot of fire at the two. Sneak dodged, but Thief got blasted and was pinned to the wall. "Cool, Flamethrower!" Lucius said. Turning, he saw Sneak racing towards him, and Lucius hit him with a blast of Confuse Ray. While Sneak was reeling, Cyndaquil and Lucius hit him with a combined Quick Attack, knocking him out. That left Pickpocket and Thief.

"I've had enough of you kids!" Pickpocket screamed, charging up an Ice Beam and letting it lose, aiming at Lucius.

"Leave him alone!" A voice screamed before an Ember melted the Ice Beam. Turning, Lucius saw Bella and Chika running up towards them. "Don't leave me out of it again." Bella growled.

"Glad I didn't." Lucius said. He turned and blasted thief with a Flamethrower that Bella added her Ember to, knocking him out almost instantaneously.

Pickpocket glanced at the kids, all of them ready to attack. He grinned, "I got what I wanted, and now, my dear children, I take my leave." He pulled a black orb out of his bag and threw it at the kids, unleashing a Smokescreen. The kids coughed as the air filled with smoke again. They heard the patter of feet as Pickpocket ran by them, leaving Thief and Sneak behind.

"Stop…him!" Lucius gasped. He ran over to Bella, "are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but who was that? And why were you guys trying to stop him?" she asked.

"Well, I had a dream about them breaking into the bank and it was so life like, I came here. I tried to stop them because it was the right thing to do." The smoke had disappeared, and Sneak and Thief were still lying on the ground unconscious.

"Should we call the authorities?" Croc asked, helping Chika get to her feet. Walking outside, Flare ran to get the Poké Police. Croc and Chika dragged Thief outside while Bella and Lucius dragged Sneak. When they got them outside an Ariados and a Medicham were accompanying Flare.

"What happened here?" The Medicham asked, grabbing Thief and Sneak. Lucius and the gang proceeded to tell them about how the Sneasels had broke into the bank and how Lucius knew about it. "Hmm…sounds like ESP to me. But you're a fire type…oh well, it doesn't matter. These two are under arrest." Sneak and Thief started to stir, but Ariados walked over calmly and spun webs over their hands. Sneak and Thief started to panic as they realized what was happening.

"We were set up!" Sneak tried to say but the Ariados and Medicham led them away.

"Okay, now I'm tired. We really need to get to sleep." Flare said. They all walked back to their houses and went to sleep.

The next morning, the town was abuzz about how the new couple and their friends had stopped some thieves from breaking into the bank. Everyone was congratulating them, clapping them on the back and saying "Good job!"

Lucius and Bella were still the center of attention. Both for being the new couple and for their heroics last night. Everyone was in a good mood until a Primape came running up, his arms shaking and flailing in the air. "Who's that?" Lucius asked.

"He runs the bank that was being robbed last night. It looks like something bad happened…" Chika answered. Lucius and Bella shared a worried glance.

The Primeape had tears in his eyes as he called for everyone's attention. "Those thieves…they stole…my Sun and Moon Stones!" Lucius and most of the adults winced.

"What's the big deal? There just some Elemental stones…" Bella whispered. Lucius looked appalled.

"No! Those two stones are the rarest and most expensive of all of them. They're easily worth thousands if not millions of Poké!" Lucius explained to his friends.

"And how do you know this?" Croc asked.

"My dad is often hired to find those stones. He's been paid for all the stones, but he's never gotten a Sun Stone or a Moon Stone." Lucius told them.

Primeape was yelling and raising all sorts of trouble, swearing vile oaths that made the kids' parents cover their children's ears and lead them away.

"Don't feel bad kids," Mrs. Feraligatr reassured them. "You still did a wonderful job stopping those crooks."

"I don't know, I fell kind of bad, we let that poor Primeape down…" Lucius mumbled. Bella cheered him up by kissing him on the cheek.

"Well, what do you guys want to do today?" Bella asked, turning to their friends.

"Want to go play in the forest?" Chika asked. They all agreed, and, saying good-bye to their parents ran off to enjoy their childhood while it lasted.

"You performed excellently, Pickpocket." A voice said from the darkness. Pickpocket stood, the bag thrown over his shoulder and resting against his hip. "You did get what I sent you for, correct?"

"Yeah boss. I got the Moon Stone," he said, bringing the black stone out of the bag. The dark room seemed to grow darker as the stone was drawn out. A dark hand reached out and grabbed the stone. "And the Sun Stone." Drawing it out, the room was filled with a blinding light.

"Put it away, fool!" A crimson eye appeared, forcing Pickpocket to put it away. "That stone should never be drawn around me, you idiot!" The voice hissed evilly, the eye staring at Pickpocket. "I have need for all the Elemental Stones, and we still need five more."

"I'll get them for you boss. But my brothers, they're trapped in jail…"

"Don't worry, I'll get them out." Evil cackling filled the air, and Pickpocket smiled grimly.

"I can't believe Pickpocket left us!" Sneak complained, his hands stuck to the wall of his cell by Ariados' webbing.

"Yeah, but if he'd spent time trying to carry us, he would've failed. And the boss would've been really mad then." Thief said, restrained in the same fashion. All of a sudden, there was a cold chill in the air. They saw a pink circle on the floor in front of them, and out hoped Pickpocket.

"Pick-!" Sneak tried to yell, but Pickpocket raced over and covered his mouth.

"Shut up, idiot! That portal is opened only for a little while, so we need to get out of here!" Shooting an Ice Beam at the web, he smashed his claws into it, breaking the web and freeing Sneak and Thief. He made a motion for them to follow, and they jumped through the dimensional portal.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Start of an Adventure

Two Weeks Later…

Lucius and Bella woke up with a yawn, stretching out their limbs. "Well, today's the day we start the Test." Lucius reminded Bella. "What do you think we have to do?" He asked nervously.

"It's not really a test, my parents just told me we can look for mates now. But we've already done that part. The next part is establishing a home and a family." She said, her face lighting up.

"Ooh, well I thought we had to climb up Mount Coronet or something like that." Lucius sighed with relief. He leaned over and started to groom Bella. She giggled with happiness. "Oh yeah, we agreed to go to the flower fields."

Bella groomed Lucius in return. "Yep, today's the day we all turn ten. We're now adults." She smiled happily.

"Adult nothing, you don't become adult in a day, you have to do something and earn it." Lucius said. They walked out, tails wagging with happiness. Their parents greeted them in the living room, but Kristi was missing. "Where's Kristi?" Lucius asked concerned.

"In her room, caring for her egg." Bella's mom answered. Bella gasped and she and Lucius went looking. They found her curled up with an egg in her nest and Sean, her Arcanine mate, sitting next to the nest.

"Hey Kristi, how's the egg?" Bella asked. Sean's head snapped up and he growled before realizing who it was.

"It's shaking; I think she'll hatch soon." Kristi replied excitedly. The egg shook violently.

"How do you know it's a girl? It might be a boy." Sean replied, looking sour.

"A mother knows…ooh!" The egg gave a particularly violent shove, and a crack appeared in the top. The room was filled instantly with everyone craning their necks to watch as more cracks appeared. One piece broke out and a paw appeared, squirming as more pieces broke off. Soon a tiny Vulpix broke out of the shell, stumbling around trying to find its footing.

"Vuuuuul!" It squeaked, and everyone awed, their hearts captured. Bella snuggled up next to Lucius, both smiling. The Vulpix walked over and fell against its mom, who bent over and licked its head. Sean walked over, smiling happily.

"What are you going to name it?" Bella asked. The Vulpix was sleeping lightly now, and Bella had crawled up next to it.

"It's definitely a girl, so…" Kristi mused aloud. "She's Raven." Raven squirmed, unaware of the events around her.

Bella sat next to Raven. "She's so pretty," Bella said, gazing at Raven foundly.

Bella's mom asked the question on everyone's mind. "So, Bella, can we expect any kids from you and Lucius anytime soon?" Bella and Lucius' faces lit up like beacons. Looking around, everyone was grinning at the question. Bella tried to hide behind Lucius.

"MOM!!" She squealed, "Why would you ask that?" Lucius' jaw hit the floor as he thought about it. _'Kids…KIDS?!?'_

"Well, that's a part of being mates. So answer the question, can we expect kids from you two?" Lucius' mom asked. Bella and Lucius' dads were gone, probably laughing or seething.

"No…no kids…why…" Lucius turned to see tears of embarrassment in her eyes.

"This is neither the time nor place to discuss this. Bella, let's go meet the others." Lucius growled, leading her out of the house. They walked out of the house and away, looking for their friends.

The met up with Chika and the others soon after. Chika walked over to Bella, Bella's eyes still filled with tears, "What's wrong Bella? Did Lucius hurt you?" Lucius gave her a questioning look, Chika looking back with a 'Play Along' look.

"No, my parents asked us if we were going to have children soon, and…it's just so embarrassing," she said. Lucius licked her cheek.

"Don't let them get to you. Brandi doesn't have any kids and they're not on their backs." He told her. She cheered up slightly, but she still seemed down.

"Well, since I won the vote, we're off to the flower fields!" She walked off proudly, Croc and Flare still thrown for a loop about Bella's weird behavior. When they got a considerable distance away, Lucius snuggled up next to Bella.

"What's wrong, really Bella? That question got to you more then it should have." Lucius whispered.

"It's just…I want kids but we just turned ten. I just…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry Lucius. We should be enjoying our birthday." She smiled and ran ahead, Lucius running after her.  
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_That night while Lucius was dreaming._

"_Lucius, wake up!" A voice called. Lucius' head snapped up. He gazed around, realizing he wasn't in his nest anymore. It was a straight walkway with a pinkish atmosphere around it._

"_Up here…" the voice whispered. Looking up, Lucius saw a Mew floating around in a pink sphere. Lucius' eyes widened in shock, Mew was a legendary, what was he doing talking to Lucius? "I'm here to tell you something Lucius." Mew said telepathically._

"_What? What do you need to tell me?" Lucius asked._

"_I can't tell you here, but I need you to climb to the top of Mount Coronet tomorrow. Arceus has summoned you and other strong Pokémon of Destiny. You and others have been chosen to help save the world."_

"_Save the world?!? What the hell is going on?" Lucius yelped in surprise._

"_Climb Mount Coronet and find out." Mew said before the world around Lucius dissolved._

Lucius' eyes snapped open. He looked around and noticed it was still dark. Getting up, careful not to wake Bella, and looked outside. _'Save the world? Why me? I'm just a Vulpix, a little Vulpix that couldn't use Ember until recently.'_ He saw on his hind paws when Bella crept up next to him.

"What are you thinking about honey?" she asked, her voice like music to Lucius.

"I want to climb Mount Coronet tomorrow." Lucius told her. He remember what she said when they fought the Sneasels. _'Don't leave me out of it again, she had growled. But should I really risk her life like this?'_ He sat.

"Because Mew told you to, right?" she asked, throwing Lucius for a loop.

"How'd you know?" Lucius stared at her, her beautiful orange features highlighted by the moon's glow.

"He told me to climb the mountain to. Were you going to leave me out of it?" She asked, staring at his eyes. The orange necklace sparkled from the moon's rays.

Lucius waiting before deciding to tell her the truth. "Yes, I would have." He muttered.

"Why? We're mates, why would you-"

"Because! We're mates, I wouldn't want to risk your life like that." He told her. "I love you Bella, you're my life." He leaned in and kissed her. "If anything happened to you, I'd go mad with grief."

"Well, you can't now. Mew told me to go too, and I am. I love you Lucius, but I can look after myself." She told him. "If we got this message, then Chika and the others probably did to. When we climb Mount Coronet tomorrow, we do it as mates." She kissed his lips. He smiled.

"Fine. But if you die on my I'm going to be mad at you." He said playfully. Walking over, they snuggled up next to each other before falling asleep.  
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The next morning, they packed bags full of berries and medicine before departing. When their parents asked them where they were going, they told them they wanted to go camping. "Shouldn't one of us go with you?" Brandi asked while Chama, her Arcanine mate, looked around at the sky.

"Sis, we're ten now. We both know how to fight, we'll be fine." Lucius reassured her.

"Okay…" she said, not entirely convinced.

"C'mon Bella." Lucius said, and they ran towards the forest, and Mount Coronet.  
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They walked for what seemed to be hours. "Man, this walk is farther then I thought." Bella said. Lucius smiled at her.

"Yep, but look there. Mount Coronet." He nodded, his nose pointing to the outline of Mount Coronet. "We're almost there."

"Yeah, but it's dark. We should rest for the night." Bella said, but Lucius quieted her.

"You hear those voices?" Bella cocked an ear, and nodded. They walked in the direction and the voices got louder. As they got closer, they smelt smoke. "Those voices…sound familiar." Lucius remarked. The smoke was visible, as was the fire light. "Look through here," Lucius whispered. Sticking their heads in the bushes, they saw a fire surrounded by a Gallade, Gardevoir and Ralts.

"Why do you think Mew called us?" Ralts said, in a voice that made Lucius feel a strange sense of déjà vu.

"I don't know Rosa, what do you think Lance?" The Gardevoir asked.

"Look Bec, I don't know either. But Mew called us, and we have to heed that call." Lance answered, grabbing a berry and chewing on it. Lance and Bec's heads shot up. "Whoever you are, come out of the bush. We won't attack you." Lance said.

Bella looked shocked, but Lucius wasn't surprised. "They're Psychic types, of course they would've sensed us." He pulled his head out, helping Bella, and walked over. His eyes widened in shock as he remembered where he had heard those voices. "Rosa, from school?" He asked. The Ralts looked shocked and backed away slightly, but the dawn of recognition came across her.

"Lucius!" She squealed, running over to embrace him in a hug. "What happened to you? After you went into the fire, you just disappeared."

Lucius proceeded to tell her about what happened after he broke into his burning house and how he came here and met Bella. "Who's Bella?" Rosa asked, confused.

"Oh! This is Bella," he said, Bella walking up and looking at Rosa disapprovingly, "she's my mate." Rosa's face turned into a mask of anger, but only for a second.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Rosa said, her whole form rigid.

"Likewise." Bella replied. Lucius looked between the two, not understanding what was going on.

"So Lance, what are you guys doing all the way out here?" Lucius asked.

"Well, I had a dream about Mew telling me to climb to the top of Mount Coronet. These two had the same dream, so they tagged along. We were inside, but we got lost and wound up outside." He added sheepishly, "So we were planning to just climb up the outside so we wouldn't get lost." Rosa and Bec nodded.

"Wow, Bella and I had the same dream just last night." Lucius told them. "Have you run into anyone else?"

"Besides you, we haven't met anyone else. But we did see an Alakazam, Charizard and Tyranitar climbing to the top." Bec said.

"Team A.T.C! They're heading to the top too!" Bella yelled happily. Everyone looked at her confused. "They're a top ranking Rescue Team. Rescue Teams are teams formed to save people. Those three are the best of the best, but they aren't from around here."

"Then why are they climbing the mountain?" Lucius asked, confused.

"The same reason as we are, Mew must have told them to." Bella said. Rosa was still giving Bella a sour look, and Bella giving her the same look back. What was up with those two?

"Well, we should go to sleep. We have to climb Mount Coronet like no other Pokémon has in history." Lance said. He waved a hand and the fire died out.

Bella snuggled up to Lucius. "You hungry?" he asked her. She shook her head. She laid down and Lucius laid next to her, keeping her warm with his body heat. Before he fell asleep, he could've sworn he felt Rosa's angry stare at his back.

**This is where the adventure starts for Lucius. I do not own Pokemon, cause if I did, Vulpix would be the most powerful Pokemon ever. **

**VULPIX RULES!**


	10. Chapter 10

YAY! Ten Chapters!

Chapter 10

Pokéhikers

Bella was sleeping soundly when a paw hit her snout. She growled as she got up, careful not to wake up Lucius, and saw Rosa glaring at her hatefully. "Yes, Rosa?" she seethed between her teeth.

"Why?" was all she said, her fists curled up.

"Why what?" Bella asked irritably. Rosa had rubbed her the wrong way since she met.

"Why did you steal Lucius from me? I've known him longer then you have!" She yelled angrily.

"First of all, I didn't 'steal' him from you, he appeared here and we fell in love. Why do you care, anyway?"

"Because I love him!" she screamed, blushing.

"I'm sorry then, but we're mates now. And you're a Ralts, he's a Vulpix, it wouldn't work out." Bella replied angrily.

"So? Some things in life don't work out. We would have still been together anyway!" Rosa's eyes started to glow blue.

"Too bad, we're mates. I'm going back to sleep." Bella turned away, but felt her body lift off the ground and smash into a tree, which she yelped in pain.

"Don't turn your back on me! You stole Lucius from me!" Rosa screamed, lifting a branch and hurling it at Bella.

Bella gaped at the flying branch, than lit it on fire with Ember. The ashes sprayed against her skin, and she settled into an attack position.

"I don't want to hurt you. We don't like each other, but Lucius would be mad at us if we hurt each other."

"Like I care anymore." She growled. "If he can make me angry, I can make him angry!" she picked up another branch using Confusion and tossed it towards Bella. Bella burnt it to a crisp with Ember again.

Bella grinned, until she felt herself picked up and smashed into the ground. _'Wake up, Lucius! Help me, please!'_ She always knew his being a heavy sleeper would be the death of her. She was picked up again, and a branch hovered near her face. She tried opening her mouth, but it was sealed shut.

"If I can't have Lucius, then he can't have you!" Rosa said, before stabbing the branch at Bella.

But the branch never hit her, because leaves flew out of nowhere and sliced up the branch into tiny pieces. "Leave my best friend alone!" Chika yelled, jumping out of the bushes followed by Croc and Flare.

"Who are you three clowns?" Rosa yelled.

"We're her friends." Flare answered, his flames lighting up. "Why are you attacking her?"

"Because she stole him!" she said, throwing her paw in Lucius' direction, his ribs rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. Branches, twigs and rocks rose in the air.

Before she could fire them, Flare shot a Smokescreen at the ground near him, hiding the friends as all the objects rushed by. Flare heard Chika cry out in surprise. As the smoke cleared he saw Rosa and Bella wrestling on the ground, clawing, scratching and biting each other in a contest of sheer strength. Looking over, he saw Chika on the ground, unconscious.

Before anyone could react, Lucius was suddenly next to Bella and Rosa and grabbed Bella by the scruff of her neck and pulled, hard but not enough to hurt her. She squirmed but stopped when she realized who had her. Lance and Bec appeared next to Rosa, trying to calm her.

"Bella, calm down. Bella, Bella!" He yelled, stopping her in her tracks. "Why are you acting like this? You're better than this." He scolded her.

Bella's eyes filled with tears. "Rosa attacked me, and I was defending myself." She choked.

"Rosa, is this true?" Lance asked, Rosa said nothing.

"Somebody, help! Chika's unconscious!" Croc yelled as he and Flare stood over Chika. Lucius and Bella ran over, but she was breathing evenly. Lucius noticed her paw was glowing white, then not. Then her leaf on her head, conspicuously without a bow, started glowing white, then not. "What's happening?" Croc asked nervously.

"She's evolving." Lance said, standing over her. "The Pokémon going through the process falls unconscious and the change occurs while they're asleep."

"You mean, she's going to be a Bayleef?" Flare asked. Lance nodded. "Man, I was hoping I would be the first to evolve…" he muttered.

"Stay with her you two; she might hurt herself in her sleep." He said, then he and Bec laid down and went back to sleep. Rosa was about to when Lucius coughed and motioned for her to join him.

"Bella, Rosa, you two need to discern your differences." He said, which earned a scoff from each of them. "Rosa, we were never meant to be mates. Bella and I fell in love from the start. And, I don't say this to hurt you, I never felt that way for you." Rosa nodded.

"I know. I, I just felt so jealous seeing her with you…" she started to cry. "I'm sorry Bella."

"It's ok, and I'm sorry for being hostile." Bella said sheepishly. They smiled and hugged each other happily.

"Now, can we all go to sleep?" Lucius asked. Rosa and Bella agreed, Rosa heading off to sleep with her brother and sister, while Lucius and Bella joined Flare and Croc in watching Chika and making sure she didn't hurt herself.

Lucius didn't know if Rosa and her siblings got any sleep, but he and his friends didn't. Chika's glowing was slightly annoying, and she was thrown into violent convulsions often. At one point, she was shooting off Razor Leaf attacks and Lucius, Bella and Flare had to shoot them down with Fire attacks to prevent trees from collapsing on them. Eventually, Chika settled down and they all fell asleep.  
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A scream pierced the morning. Lucius, Bella, Croc and Flare bolted to their feet, looking for Chika, but she was no where to be seen. The screams continued, and they ran in that general direction when they saw a Bayleef yelling while looking at a pond. "What happened to me?!?" she yelled before collapsing on the ground, sobbing.

Lucius approached her slowly. "Chika? Chika, is that you?" he asked. The Bayleef turned her head.

"Lucius, what happened?" she sniffed. She lifted her head, sending a pleasant aroma towards Lucius.

"You evolved last night, don't you remember? You kept us up all night long…" he added with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, I thought it was a bad dream." She stood up, trying to keep her balance but falling over. "So, I'm a Bayleef now? It's so…strange. I can't keep my balance."

"You haven't adjusted yet, but that'll pass. But, I want to know, why are you three here? Were you following us?" Lucius asked, looking at Croc and Flare.

"No, we all had a dream about Mew telling us to climb to the top of Mount Coronet. And we heard what sounded like a fight while walking and we saw Bella and that Ralts fighting." Croc answered.

"Yeah, so I'm guessing you two had the same dream and decided not to tell us?" Chika asked, walking over to stand near them. "Boy, I feel really tall now!" she said excitedly.

"Didn't want to risk your lives like that." Bella said, repeating Lucius' words.

"Well, now we're all heading towards Mount Coronet." Flare said enthusiastically, leaping on Chika's back and earning a disapproving glare from her. "It's comfy up here…" he said, lying down. She shook herself violently, throwing him off and making him roll on the ground.

"I'm not a train Flare." She said. Flare grinned as he got up.

They walked back to find Lance, Bec and Rosa stretching, just awakening. "Oh, there you are. I thought you left." Bec said, concerned.

"No, Chika here evolved last night and we were helping her through it." Bella answered.

"Yeah, it's not fun. I'm glad I don't have to evolve again." Lance answered. "Are you guys ready to climb Mount Coronet today?" he asked.

"Yeah," They all said in unison. They started hiking towards Mount Coronet. Rosa stayed back with the friends.

"So, you guys had the Mew dream to, didn't you?" she asked, twirling a branch with her Confusion.

"Yep," Chika said, staying in the back.

"Why do you think Mew called us? I mean, we're all kids. Well, mostly kids." Rosa chuckled, giving Chika a glance.

"Maybe we have to do something adults couldn't. I don't know why, maybe you should ask him when we get there." Chika asked with a grin. Rosa dropped the twig, her jaw dropping while Rosa and Bella giggled.

"Maybe I will." She said, jutting out her chin defiantly. Lucius, Croc and Flare snorted, earning Lucius a swat on the head from Bella.

"If you're such a brave Pokémon, why don't you ask Mew?" Bella challenged him. Chika and Rosa giggled.

"I will." Lucius growled.  
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Pickpocket, Sneak and Thief jumped between rooftops with a Gengar following them. "Specter, you know what we're after, right?" Pickpocket asked the Gengar as he floated along behind them.

"Yeah, this bank is supposed to have a Shiny Stone for the Master, and we're supposed to grab it." Specter chuckled sadistically. The roof they stood on was bathed in moonlight, making the four dark figures stand out. Specter started to dip into the building, his transparent figure dropping through the roof.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Thief asked after Specter was completely gone.

"I don't know, but the Master said we could." Sneak replied. They heard the door of the bank creak open. Grinning, the three Sneasels dropped down and rushed in. "Where is it?!?" Sneak yelled angrily. "The Shiny Stone isn't here!" He yelled.

Specter swore angrily. "They must have moved it after hearing about your last blunder." He grinned evilly, Pickpocket, Sneak and Thief growled at him. "You got thwarted by kids…tsk tsk tsk."

Pickpocket was about to attack him when a dark form appeared. "Fools, your wasting your time fighting each other, just grab loot and get out! There are other ways to get valuable stones!" The figure vanished into thin air.

Shrugging, Pickpocket raced forward and started filling his bag with Poké and rare items, when he stumbled upon three items that interested him. "Sneak! Thief, get up here!" He yelled. Sneak and Thief were next to him in a second. "Look," he said, pointing at three Razor Claws. They laughed, their horrible, cruel laugh filling the air as they grabbed the claws, and the night was filled by a blinding white light.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Pokéhorn Bobsleds

Lucius, Bella, Croc, Flare, Chika, Rosa, Lance and Bec hiked up the steep side of Mount Coronet. Everyone was panting from the effort, Lance and Bec less then anyone due to their being accustomed to hard work, but Chika was gasping for air, her form heavier then she was used to. Lucius and Croc stayed next to her, just in case the worst should happen. "Are you alright Chika? We could stop and rest if you need to." Lucius asked, concerned.

"No…I'm…fine." She gasped. Her brown was furrowed in concentration and she was sweating heavily. Lucius felt Bella sidle up next to him.

"We should stop and let her catch her breath. Lance, Bec and Rosa can continue without us." He told her.

"But she won't let us stop on her account." Bella said.

"Bella, you look exhausted. Do you need to rest?" Lucius asked loudly, grinning at her. Bella scowled at him, than fell to the ground.

"Yes, please." She whimpered. Lance, Bec and Rosa stopped and looked at the group.

Chika fell to the ground near Bella. "Do you guys want us to stay here with you?" Lance asked, his eyes narrowing.

Lucius looked up at him. "No, you guys scout on ahead. We'll try to get to the top and meet you guys there." He said. Lance nodded, and they started off. Rosa turned and waved, then ran up to catch up with her siblings.

Lucius pulled out some berries and dealt them out. Everyone sat and ate them in silence. "So, does anyone have any idea why Mew called _us_? I mean, we're all kids." Lucius said, pawing the ground.

Bella snuggled next to him, smiling contently. "Maybe we're special." She suggested.

A chuckle filled the air and everyone was on their feet immediately. "Sorry to butt in, but we're just passing through." A Gengar said with a smile. He was accompanied by an Ekans and a Medicham. "Oh, were are my manners? I'm Specter, this is Snake, and Chuck. We're a Rescue Team called Team Meanies." He grinned. Lucius didn't know what it was, but he didn't like this guy.

"I'm Lucius. This is Bella, Chika, Flare and Croc." Lucius introduced everyone. Bella was standing next to Lucius, she was shaking slightly. "What are you doing up here? This path is out of the way, no matter where you're going."

"We're climbing to the top of Mount Coronet." Snake hissed. Specter waved his hand.

"Don't be so rude, Snake. I'm sorry, but we have our reasons to climb up. Now, we must be going." Specter bowed, and they were on their way.

"Did Mew call you?!" Lucius yelled after them. Specter turned towards them.

"You too, huh?" He asked, before they turned and hiked up.

When they were out of earshot, Bella whispered, "I got a bad feeling about them. We should get going." Everyone agreed, so they packed up their berries and started hiking again.  
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The hike was long and hard. The rocks scraped and cut against their paws, and rocks were continuously shifting. "Man, could Mew have asked anything harder from us?" Croc complained.

Lucius shook his head breathlessly. "Probably not, but I doubt he'll make things any easierrrr-!" Lucius slipped and felt his self falling. Bella screamed as Lucius was about to crash into rocks, but suddenly he was being held up by something hard. Looking up, he saw Chika grunting and straining to hold her Vine Whip, the only thing holding Lucius up. Croc and Flare grabbed each vine and started to pull Lucius up.

"Thanks," Lucius gulped. "But what did I trip over?" he asked, looking over the ground. He saw something circular and long gutting out of the ground. He grabbed it in his mouth and pulled.

"What is it?" Bella asked, staring at the scroll in Lucius' mouth. Lucius spat it out on the ground.

"It looks like…oh my goodness." He said breathlessly.

"What is it Lucius?" Chika asked.

"This is an Ancient Scroll!" He yelled, expecting them to be shocked. They weren't. "Don't you guys know what a Ancient Scroll is?" he asked.

"A really, really old scroll?" Flare haphazard a guess.

"Yes, but that's not it. An Ancient Scroll is how Pokémon in the past learned moves they couldn't learn any other way. It's written in Unown language. My dad taught me how to read it, hold on." Lucius tore the seal on the scroll and unrolled it. "It says…Dark…energy…This teaches Dark Pulse." Lucius told them.

"How does it work?" Croc asked.

"Simple, you put your paw on it and focus. If you can learn the move, it glows and the knowledge is imprinted into your mind." Lucius explained, looking at the scroll's runes.

"Lucius, have a go at it. You almost died over it, you deserve it." Chika said. Nodding, Lucius put his paw on the scroll and focused. The scroll glowed, and Lucius felt new information enter his mind. After the imprint of knowledge was over, the scroll lit into flames. Lucius' paw was away from the scroll as it turned into ashes.

"Well? Did it work?" Flare asked. Lucius grinned at him. Gathering the energy, reading the instructions in his mind, he shot of a dark beam of energy into the sky.

"Does that answer your question?" Lucius grinned. Flare nodded feebly. "It feels weird though. I don't want to use it often, it brings up dark thoughts." Lucius shuddered.

"Well, let's get going. We still have a lot of ground to cover." Chika suggested. They walked away.  
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"He found the scroll, then?" Snake hissed, coming out of the shadow.

"Yeah, and soon he'll be craving more power." Specter chuckled evily.

"The Master isn't going to appreciate you giving them more strength." Chuck growled.

"He will when he realizes the benefits that could come from a simple loss." Specter replied with a grin.  
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The hike became harder the higher up the friends went. The air was thinner and it was hard for them to catch their breath. "Maybe…we should…turn back." Croc muttered.

"No! Mew told us to come to the top…" Bella stopped to gasp for air, "And we will." She finished. Lucius licked her cheek.

"That's my…mate." He grinned. The air was misty, and harder to see ahead of them. Bella, Lucius and Flare tried several times to light the way with fire, but it disappeared each time they tried. "This cannot…get any worse."

"Don't say that!" Chika yelled. "It…might." They saw dark shapes in the distance. "Who…is that?"

"Dunno…" Lucius crawled forward. "Get ready to attack if they're…aggressive." He coughed, louder then he meant to. The dark figures twisted quickly. The figures started to approach, quickly.

"Wait!" Bella yelled. It was Lance, Bec and Rosa.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Lance said cheerfully.

"How can you…speak like that? It's hard to…breathe up here." Lucius wheezed.

"At first, but you get used to it." Rosa said, smiling. "Come on, we have some people you need to meet." She led them forward. And the friends gasped.

Standing there was a whole collection of tough looking Pokémon. Standing closest to them was an Alakazam, Tyranitar, and Charizard. "Team A.C.T.!" Bella yipped excitedly.

"Yes, it seems our reputation is strong, even in this foreign land." The Alakazam said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, but why did Mew call children?" Charizard asked. The flame on his tail was burning fiercly. Lucius felt a twinge of envy.

"I don't know…but he must have a reason." Lucius replied hotly.

"Well, everyone must be here, now what do we do?" Tyranitar asked. "I hate having to wait!" he growled.

"Peace Tyranitar, if Mew hasn't revealed himself yet, then maybe not all of the summoned ones have appeared. Now, it is dark, and I'm sure you kids are hungry. Would you like something to eat?" Alakazam asked, pulling out a box full of rare berries and deserts.

"No, thank you. We got…our own food." Lucius replied. Laying down, he and his friends were about to tuck into a satisfying dinner when Alakazam, Tyranitar, and Charizard walked over with Bec, Lance and Rosa.

"Mind if we join you?" Charizard asked.

Bella smiled and answered in a flash. "Sure, go ahead." The friends opened up and let the others join them. Rosa sat next to Bella, with Lucius on Bella's other side.

"Thank you for your kindness, Bella." Alakzam said, opening his box and laying it out. "Please, let us dig in." The meal started. Lucius ate slowly, watching the others.

"So, Alakazam, pardon me…for asking, but how did…you three become a Rescue Team?" Alakzam smiled.

"Well, we met as kids and always dreamed of saving people. So one day, we found a Caterpie lost in the woods and brought it back to his mother. From that day on we trained to become the most powerful Rescue Team."

"Wow…" Lucius breathed, chewing on a Rawst Berry. "But why don't…we have Rescue Teams…out here?"

Alakazam shrugged. "Maybe because you have established a law enforcing agency. I do not know." He answered truthfully, drinking some Berry juice.

Bella yawned and laid against Lucius. "Sorry, but I'm…really tired." She said before dropping off into a deep sleep.

"You two are mates?" Charizard asked. Lucius nodded shyly. "I left my mate back in my hometown, telling her it was too dangerous. She was mad, but I pleaded with her and she stayed to watch after our children."

Lucius got on his stomach. Bella was sleeping lightly. Lucius snuggled up against her. "How adorable, Vulpix love." Tyranitar chuckled to a round of laughter. Lucius stuck his tongue out at him. He fell asleep soon after.

Music filled the air. Lucius felt Bella get up, and he follow suite. Everyone was looking around for the source. Lucius noticed that there were three new faces to the crowd, but not new to him. Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Tyrogue were among the confused. Soon, a dark figure appeared from the mist, a flute in his hands.

"My friends, thank you for answering the call of Mew." The figure said. It wasn't any Pokémon Lucius had heard of, it had a black cloak on that covered every part of its skin, and it stood on it's back two legs and held the flute with its front two. "Now, prepare to meet your summoners." He put the flute to his mouth, if he had one, and began to play a haunting melody.

Bella looked around, as if expecting something to happen. Something did.

A luminous staircase appeared in front of everyone, ascending into the heavens. "Enter the Hall of Origins."

**Whew, Hall of Origins. Didn't think I would ever bring our heroes here. Wonder who they'll meet, and why did Mew call them?  
I don't own Pokemon (unfortunately) I just created the characters and scenario in this maverick story of mine.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hall of Origins

No one moved when the luminous staircase appeared. Everyone stood in shock, even the fearless Team A.C.T. The hooded Pokémon stood there, waiting for anyone to move. He ran out of patience. "Mew has called you and this is how you repay him?!? With hesitation? Now move up the stairs!" he yelled at them, with such _power_ that everyone started to move. Lucius looked back, seeing all the eyes stare at his back, and took a first step. He flinched, thinking he would fall through, but looking down saw his paw on the step. Bella took a step next to him and smiled at him.

"Race you to the top!" She said before dashing up the stairs. Lucius was about to follow when he was trampled by Croc, Flare, Chika and Rosa racing after her. Shaking himself off, Lucius bolted after them. The staircase was long, and the glow led them, the absence of the sun turning the surrounding area pitch black. Chika was the first to stop running, followed by Rosa, Croc, Flare then Bella. Lucius stopped to look back.

All the Pokémon were walking up slowly, the mass way behind the friends, with Bec and Lance at the lead followed by Team A.C.T. then Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Tyrogue. Lucius scowled when he looked at them. He knew it was the same three that bullied him. "What's wrong, Lucius?" Flare asked, climbing up next to Lucius and looking where Lucius was staring.

"Nothing, just trying to see everyone." Lucius lied quickly. "Let's go." He said, noticing that he could breathe normally now. They started to walk up the staircase again, Bella and Lucius taking up the lead.

"Where do you think we're going?" Bella asked Lucius as they walked up the never ending staircase.

"Don't know, but when we get there, I'm going to be twenty pounds lighter." Lucius joked.

"But then you would be almost weightless…" Bella thought about it.

"And you _might_ be able to wrestle me to the ground." Lucius grinned. Bella was about to knock into him, but thought better about it. She bit his ear instead. He whimpered playfully, walking as much as he was being dragged.  
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Pickpocket grinned as he looked around. They were in a cell, held by Spinarak webbing. But that wasn't what got to him. On the other three walls were two Weaviles, Thief and Sneak. It didn't bother him that they were stuck in jail. It didn't bother him that they were facing maximum penalty. They were finally Weaviles. He started to hum.

"Pickpocket, we're stuck in jail, facing maximum penalty all because you had to make us all evolve. Why are you humming?" Thief screamed. All of a sudden a pink portal appeared in the floor and Specter floated out with Snake and Chuck.

"Hmmm, déjà vu, huh Thief?" Pickpocket asked, breaking through his webbing without assistance. Specter broke Thief's shackles while Snake and Chuck demolished Sneak's.

"The Master wants you to know, Pickpocket, that this is the last time he bails you three out of jail." Specter warned.

"Oh, he's trying to sweet talk me." Pickpocket said, grinning. "Let's get out of here!" They jumped through the portal again.

"Hehehehe…" Keckleon laughed, becoming visible. "Glad the Police force planted me here." He jumped through the portal, activing his Camouflage power to become hidden.  
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At the top of the stairs was a long hallway. Lucius and Bella gasped as they saw it. "This is the place Mew brought us in our dream."

"Yeah, but it's more beautiful, and mystical." Bella replied. They started to walk forward as more Pokémon came up, making room for them. With a gust of air, the cloaked Pokémon appeared at the front of the group.

"Follow me," he said to the group. He walked ahead of them, leading everyone down the hall. Statues were on each side, but of Pokémon Lucius had never seen. But soon, huge shapes came into sight. Not of statues, but moving, living Pokémon. As they got closer, Lucius recognized the majestic birds.

"Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres…Mew!" He gasped. Mew smiled and waved at the group of Pokémon as if they were a parade. More figures came into view.

"Lucius, who are all these Pokémon?" Bella asked.

"Entei, Raikou, Suicine, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi," Lucius explained. He gathered his breath. "Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Latios, Latias, Rayquaza, Jirachi Deoxys."

Bella's head was spinning, looking at all the strange Pokémon.

Lucius continued, his face redder than usual. "Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Manaphy and Phione, Regigigas, Heatran, Shaymin and…" Lucius' eyes almost popped out of his head. He bowed, his snout touching the floor. "Arceus." He whimpered.

Behind each legendary was a stone statue of that Pokémon, depicting their terrible fury. But some legendaries were missing, which raised Lucius' crave to question. "Rise Lucius. I must speak to all of you." Arceus said, his voice reverberating from everywhere in the room.

Mew floated over to the cloaked figure. "Smokey, you did well, but you can rest now." Smokey pulled back his hood, revealing an Ursaring with white eyes.

"Thank you, Master." He said, before collapsing on the floor. Mew giggled.

"Silly Ursaring," he said before forming a circle around it, waving a paw, and teleporting him away.

"Thank you for all heeding Mew's invitation. I have called you here, ALL of you, to help us in our time of need." Arceus looked around; Lucius felt his entire body go cold as his gaze settled on Lucius. "As some of you who know your lore very well," he chuckled, "may have realized, some of our number are missing. That is the reason we have called you here." Arceus nodded at Mew.

"This, is the future as it will be," he said, waving a paw. Lucius felt himself falling into a deep sleep.  
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"_Alright Pikachu, now use Volt Tackle!" A human shouted at a Pikachu. He had a red cap with clothes and a back pack on, and he was red in the face. The Pikachu ran at other humans, igniting into electricity, and smashing into them._

"_Vul, vul, vul…" a little baby Vulpix panted as it ran through the grass. Water Gun attacks shot through the air, one striking the Vulpix which cried in pain. A round, half-red half-white ball flew through the air, smacking into the Vulpix, who disappeared into it. A Ninetales cried out as it's child vanished. A human with a Mudkip appeared. The human shouted, and the Mudkip shot Water Guns at Ninetales, who turned and ran._

_A Mew screamed as humans in black clothes gathered around it. They had all sorts of tools, sharp pointy objects, teeth like things, and others. The Mew's screams continued. Soon, a taller, more deformed Mew stood up, it was tall and muscular, and evil looking._

_A Eevee cried as a human picked it up by the scruff of it's neck. "100 Poké for this fine specimen!" he yelled, shaking the Eevee around violently. "This is a rare Pokémon ladies and gentlemen, isn't he worth more?"_

_An Arcanine growled as a human hit it with a long, snake like object. "Do it right you stupid Arcanine!" He smacked it again. The Arcanine had tears in its eyes. Baby Growlithe were crawling around near the human. "Do it!" _

_A Pichu cried as it's parents were taken. A hand reached toward it. The Pichu tried to move away, but the hand wrapped around it's throat. "You're coming with us." Someone chuckled.  
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All the Pokémon got up, some of them with tears in their eyes. Bella looked torn from grief and insanity. Lucius snuck over to her and licked her cheek furiously. "It's all right, it's all right." He muttered, trying to stop her tears. She kept crying, and Lucius got on his hind paws and wrapped his paws around her, grooming her fiercly. She burst into a full sob.

"That is what the world will be like with humans. They're going to trample all over this land. They call this place 'Sinnoh'. They will tear apart your families." Mew explained.

"Wait, I thought humans were creatures of myth and fable for young Pokémon?!" Alakazam asked. Lucius was still grooming Bella, her tears still flowing. He noticed some of the other Pokémon were crying just as hard, and a few were actually foaming from the mouth.

"No, they're just beyond the boarder of our land. And in truth, that has already come to pass." Arceus answered. Everyone started to yell and shout. "SILENCE!" The sound disappeared immediately, "When this event came to pass, and our members were being captured by power hungry humans, I had Dialga roll back time, to now, when we could change the events of history and alter the future." He looked around. Bella and stopped crying, and was lying on the floor, Lucius was next to her, curling up around her protectively. "It is risky, but there are events going on that will lead to humans coming here."

"Right now, Darkrai wishes to cover the world in darkness, driving humans crazy. The lack of light will be deadly to humans and most Pokémon. Dialga, Palkia, Kyogre, Groudon, and Giratina have joined him, hoping to not be captured by Pokémon. What they don't know, is that their actions will lead to humans leaving their land and migrating here. We have called all of you here, to stop him. Although I regret it, we must banish Darkrai from this world, along with Giratina, and any other legendaries that believe their idea is just."

"Now, I cannot banish him myself, as my powers are limited outside this hall. I do know how to banish him, but I cannot teach you the power. There is an Ancient Scroll out there that teaches Final Judgement. The Old Beings made this scroll as an ultimate punishment. I need you to find it, and cast it on Darkrai."

"Wait a minute," Charizard said, stepping forward, "how do we know which is it?"

"Don't you know the Unown language?" Arceus asked, frowning. Everyone shook their head, except Lucius. "Young Lucius, how do you know that language?"

"My dad…taught it to me." Lucius stammered. He licked Bella's ear, more for his sake then hers. He needed to know there was someone there for him.

"Hmm…this poses a problem…" Arceus mused.

"How about they bring any Ancient Scroll they find to my house? My dad and I can translate them, if you want." Lucius suggested.

"I do not like it, but since the Unown have become an obsolete means of communication, I must accept it. If you find an Ancient Scroll, take it to Lucius' house." He announced. Some nodded, "Thank you for choosing to help all Pokémon. If we succeed, humans will never land on our shores."

"Wait, what if we don't know Lucius' home?" Tyrogue asked.

"Hmm…Mew, I'm charging you with collecting and transporting Ancient Scrolls." Arceus said. Mew nodded feverantly.

"OK, now time for you to all go home. Remember, Darkrai will try anything to get you to help him. Stay strong, unless you wish to see your children or grandchildren to be treated that way." Mew waved a paw, and everyone fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

King Cavalon and Nicholas meet Bella

Bella woke with a start, kicking as she jumped to her feet. She stood, wondering why the ground was so warm, and so uneven. "Where am I?" she asked, when she felt the ground moving underneath her.

"Bella…please get off me…" Lucius cried. Looking down, Bella realized the ground was warm because the 'ground' was Lucius' stomach. She grinned shyly and hopped off. Lucius hopped to his feet. "Ouch, my stomach's sore…" he grimaced.

Chika, Flare and Croc were lying on top of each other, Croc was on the bottom, with Chika over him and Flare resting on her back. "How cute…" Bella snickered. Croc was the first to wake.

"Oh my gosh! I'm being crushed by a Snorlax! Help me Lucius!" he yelled, flailing around wildly. Lucius chortled, and patted Chika on the head.

"Wha…what?" she said in a daze. When she realized Croc was being crushed by her enhanced weight, she jumped off, throwing Flare into a bush. "Sorry Croc…" she apologized, swatting her paw.

"It's alright. Where did Flare go?" he asked, looking around. They heard voices and a bush was shaking.

Lucius poked his head in. "You're so squishy, would you like to be my man servant?" a Slowking asked Flare, who was glaring at him.

"No…I don't want to be your man servant. Now please leave me alone." Flare replied.

"Merry Christmas!" Someone shouted, causing Flare to jump and Lucius pull his head out of the bush and run around. A Delibird appeared, holding a sack full of objects and dancing. He picked something out of his sack and tossed it at Lucius, hitting him in the forehead. "Hope you enjoy your gifts…King Cavalon, have you been good?"

"Nicholas, what are you doing here?" King Cavalon the Slowking said.

"Handing out presents to little boys and girls!" he said with a smile, while Lucius got up, rubbing his head. Bella, Croc and Chika came over. Lucius looked at what Nicholas threw at him…it was an Ancient Scroll!

"Look at this!" he said, picking up the scroll with his mouth. Bella gasped and bit it and placed it on the ground. She unfurled it, "what's it say?" she asked while Nicholas and Cavalon yipped to each other excitedly, Cavalon never taking his arms off of Flare, who looked really agitated.

"Hold on…Punch…Freezing…This isn't Final Judgment. It teaches Ice Punch." Lucius sighed and rolled the scroll up.

Cavalon and Nicholas stopped looking at them. "Mew ordered you two to look for Final Judgment? Yeah, I was there, I think they all liked me." Cavalon puffed his chest out proudly. Flare rolled his eyes.

There was a flashing behind Lucius, and when he turned around, he saw Croc standing over where the scroll was and a pile of ashes. Lucius blanched, "You didn't." he dreaded.

Croc smiled, his fist covering itself in ice, "I did." He smashed his fist into a tree. After he did, the ice slowly crept up the bark, covering the entire tree. "Wow, this is awesome." He smiled. Lucius scowled at him. "What? It wasn't Final Judgment, and I wanted to learn something that could help."

"I have to get going, more presents to deliver, more people to see!" Nicholas yipped happily. Lucius personally wasn't too sad to see him go.

"Wait!" Bella yelled. Nicholas smiled at her. "If you find any Ancient Scrolls, can you give them to Lucius?" she asked, giving him a puppy face.

"Sure!" he chirped happily, than he flew away.

"I know this will crush you all, but I must head out to. The Ancient Scrolls wait for no king! Come, man servant." He said, walking away whistling and dancing. Flare stayed where he was, but Cavalon didn't seem to care, and he continued on his merry way.

"Woooooooooooow." Flare moaned. Lucius chortled.

"Does anyone know where we are?" Lucius asked.

Everyone looked around, and Bella sniffed the air. "We're next to Dweder. Mew must have known where we lived and put us near it. Dweder is…this way." She said, and the friends started to walk.  
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When they got home, they were immediately swarmed by their parents, being scolded and dragged home. Lucius and Bella smiled at each other, even though they were both dangling from their father's mouths, held up by the scruff of their necks. Chika's parents had been slightly happy when they realized she had evolved, but she was still in trouble.

"What were you thinking? You decided to leave without telling us how long you would be gone?!? You could have been killed!" Lucius' mother scolded him, her red eyes flaming. Lucius' tails dangled helplessly as he tried to reason with her.

"Mommy, I keep trying to tell you…" he said. She spanked him with her paw.

"You are in so much trouble, you don't even know!" she growled, leaving him whimpering, his ears flicked back and his eyes filling with tears. He looked over and saw his mate being treated similarly. She looked over at him and he grimaced.

Their parents put them in their room and slammed the door. Lucius was on the floor, his rear still throbbing. "Jeez, it's been a while since I've been spanked, it hurts." Lucius mumbled.

Bella giggled. "It was funny watching you." Lucius growled, his ears flicking irritably. She continued giggling, and he tackled her, pinning her to the ground under him.

"Say you're sorry." He told her. She shook her head, and he bit her ear playfully, she giggled even more.

"Lucius, since we're being punished, can you teach me the Unown language?" she asked, still pinned under Lucius' superior weight.

"Sure, I guess you'll need to know it in case you get any scrolls and I'm not around. And by that, I mean looking for more scrolls, not what you're thinking." And thus began the process of Lucius trying to teach Bella the Unown language.  
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"You three fools! You were captured, again I might add, just to evolve?!" Darkrai yelled at the three Weaviles. Specter, Snake and Chuck stood next to him, chuckling as the Weaviles were groaning and screaming in pain from Darkrai's power.

"We're sorry Master! We thought it would help your plans if we were stronger!" Pickpocket yelled as pain wracked his body.

The pain stopped, and the Weaviles stood to their feet. "We're very sorry Master," Pickpocket said, bowing low to Darkrai.

"If you get caught again, your punishment shall be worse then any nightmare you could possibly imagine." He said. His eye shrunk with sick pleasure. "Aaahhhh…" he reached a clawed hand out, and a figure flew threw the air, getting caught in Darkrai's hand by the throat. "And who might you be?"

Keckleon choked and tried to claw Darkrai's hand. "Agent K of the Pokémon Police Force." He said, gasping for air. Darkrai smiled, if he could.

"Well, Agent K, you mistake, was coming here." Darkrai's other hand came up, and a dark sphere appeared, shooting forward and hitting Keckleon. Keckleon's eyes widened, but soon shut tightly. Darkrai felt his Bad Dream power kick in, and Keckleon was soon gnashing his teeth together. Keckleon's skin took a dark ebony hue. Darkrai threw the Keckleon against the dark wall, as soon as Keckleon hit the wall, dark tentacles grabbed him and consumed him in a cacoon. "When he comes out, he'll be a much different Agent, don't you agree, Specter?" Darkrai's mirthless laugh filled the air.

Specter chuckled as he watched the cacoon squirm. Keckleon was no doubt trying to break free. "Specter! I hear you and your playmates gave one of the summoned ones an Ancient Scroll." Darkrai's gaze fell on Specter.

"Yes My Lord, but in hopes it will turn that Pokémon to our side, and we'll have an agent on the inside, My Lord!" Specter cowered in the corner, Snake and Chuck next to him. Darkrai chuckled.

"Giratina!" he yelled. Suddenly, a black hole appeared, and Giratina's snake like head came through.

"Yes?" Giratina asked in a cold voice. It was more of a snake like hiss, and it sent chills down Pickpocket's spine. He was still standing there, Thief and Sneak next to him, all three of them frozen with fear.

"I need you to find more…'recruits'…for me. Bring forth any Pokémon that is willing to serve me." Giratina nodded, and started to withdraw to his universe. "Oh, and…" Specter felt himself picked up, and started to hurl towards the hole. He went right through. "Teach that fool some manners." Giratina smiled sadistically.

"Dusk!" A Dusknoir materialized out of nowhere. Darkrai smiled, "These henchmen are under your control now. Now, find me a Shiny Stone, I need one for my ritual." Dusk nodded, and gestured towards Snake and Medicham. They walked over.

"We shall depart, Master." Dusk said in a mechanical voice. Darkrai's laughter filled the air. _'Soon, my plan will come to tuition. I shall rule the world!'  
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Bella learned the Unown language quicker then Lucius did, quicker than anyone had ever known. She was able to read the language as well as Lucius. The language does not have a spoken part, as the language died out long ago and no one was able to decipher how it is spoken. "Wow, this is amazing Bella, no one's ever been able to learn this so quickly." She smiled sheepishly. It had been only four hours since they started, and it was getting dark.

The door opened, and Lucius and Bella's moms walked in. "Dinner is ready." Lucius' mom said.

Bella's mom looked at them. "Come and eat, than straight back here." Bella and Lucius stood up and walked outside. As soon as they were, Raven, the little Vulpix baby of the family, ran up.

"Vuul-piiiix!" she yipped. Bella snuggled against her, making Raven giggle happily.

"Why can't she speak?" Lucius asked, Bella giving him an incredible look.

"She has to learn to speak, duh! You're not born with the ability to speak. It takes almost a year for baby Pokémon to learn how to talk."

"Vuul!" Raven said again. They sat with their family and proceeded to eat. No one's tails were wagging, meaning everyone was still mad about Bella and Lucius' disappearance.

"Dad, I need to talk to you." Lucius said suddenly. His dad looked up.

"Yes, son?" he asked. Lucius proceeded to tell them about how Mew called them and wanted them to find a scroll with Final Judgment to banish Darkrai. By the end of the story, everyone was looking confused. Lucius held his breath.

"And, Pokémon will be bringing Ancient Scrolls by, and we need you to translate them so we can find Ancient Judgment." Lucius added.

"Bed. Now." Lucius' mom said. Lucius didn't try to argue, he walked away, his tails low and ears flicked back. Bella glared at them, and ran to meet up with him.

"They won't listen until Pokémon start to bring scrolls. Then, they'll start to believe you." She tried to assure him.

Lucius shook his head. "Maybe, but they won't let us go looking for scrolls by ourselves. And I doubt Chika, Flare and Croc will be allowed."

"And, if we do find the scroll…" he said, looking straight into her eyes. "who's going to be brave enough to fight Darkrai?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Lucius' Dark Secret

Later that night, Bella woke up in the middle of the night with a start. The moon was full, sending moonlight into her room, highlighting her leaf nest and the rugs on the floor. She looked around and realized Lucius wasn't inside the room. She searched the inside of her entire house, but he wasn't there. Her mom was sleeping against the door to the outside, '_Probably to prevent me from leaving.'_ She thought bitterly. She walked back to her room only to foolishly realize the window was open. Climbing out, she saw Lucius' form against the dark sky.

Lucius focused hard, his eyes closed tightly as he tried to bring up his Dark Pulse. He succeeded and felt the dark magic leave his body, not from his eyes like he did before, but in a shock wave, like he willed. He heard a cry from behind him, and he turned, snarling.

Bella saw his eyes, but they weren't his own. They were black as midnight, showing an inner rage she didn't know existed. But they were gone in an instant, replaced by his sorrowful orange eyes. "Bella, oh my goodness, are you alright?!" he asked nervously. He ran over, trying to help her up. She shook away from him.

"I'm fine." She sniffed angrily. "I thought you said you weren't going to use that move. You said it brought up 'bad memories'."

"I'd rather not talk about it." He growled, turning away from her. She tackled him.

"Tell me." She growled, biting his ear. It wasn't playfully.

"No. You don't need to know." He yelped as she applied more pressure. "Why are you angry with me?!"

"Because we're mates. We have to know each other, and the fact you are using dark magic!" she yelled at him.

"Fine, I'll tell you." He said. She got off him, letting him sit on his rear.

"The truth is…I've got blood on my paws."

"Lie. You couldn't use Ember until recently, so you couldn't have killed anyone." She sniffed.

"I didn't kill him using Ember, I tore his throat out." He took a breath. "Before I met you, I was the kid at school who no one liked. Not only did I know all the answers to teachers' questions, but I didn't know how to use Ember. So, everyone thought I was malformed, and they all thought I was a freak." He sighed. "There were four bullies that were liked by everyone before they started to pick on me. Ty, a Tyrogue, Chan, a Hitmonchan, Lee, a Hitmonlee and Bruce, a Hitmontop. I know, not very imaginative names, but their parents weren't that bright. Anyway, they always messed with me, making me look and feel like an idiot. The other kids avoided me, maybe because they didn't want to be picked on by the four brothers. Maybe because they thought I was a freak.

"Anyway, they always picked on me. Ever since I was two and started attending school they wanted to make me feel inferior. Bruce, the Hitmontop, was the worst. He always took it too far, even for those three. While they would hang me from a tree by my back paws, he would jump and kick me while I was struggling to get down. The teachers didn't stop them because they were scared of their parents. The students didn't stop them because they were scared of Bruce. And it went on like that for years. When I turned six, I was almost fed up with it, but I couldn't do anything. By than, all the other students were learning moves, and everyone was messing with me. There was a Caterpie that would tie me up in a String Shot and hang me from buildings!

"All because of Bruce, Chan, Lee and Ty. I hated them so much." He growled, his eyes turning black again. "When I was six, Bruce followed me home one day, tormenting me all the way there for kicks. He was sick, twisted and demented. And I was full of hate. I attacked him."

Bella was staring at him, incredulous. She could not believe this was him.

"It was like I was possessed that day. Nothing should have happened like that. Anyway, I pinned him somehow, and my mouth went to his throat. And I tore his throat out." His eyes were still black. And his lip was pulled back over his teeth. "I watched as the blood pooled out of his throat, and watched as the light left his eyes. Then the evil was gone from my heart. I felt so much remorse, I felt so horrible, that I wouldn't leave his body. My brother found me that night."

"I didn't know you have a brother. Why isn't he here?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Because he's dead." Lucius replied.

"Did you kill him too?" she asked, horrified.

"No. When he found me, he decided to bury the body. After that, we acted like nothing happened. Three days later, everyone was searching for him. They found his body, throat ripped out. I was about to confess and take my punishment, when my brother stepped forward. He confessed, he was lying of course, but didn't stay around. Hoping to take the blame and any accusations off me, he ran away. The Police Force chased after him, and they caught him. As far as they were concerned, he was guilty and the punishment must fit the crime. He was put to death." Lucius broke down crying. "I watched his limp body thrown into a natural fire so he would burn. His form was turned to ashes as the flames consumed him. My parents, nor my sisters, understood why I was crying so much. They would have if they knew what you know now."

Bella was staring at Lucius, her heart torn. _'My mate is a killer. What if he decides to kill me?'_ Lucius looked at her.

"But Ty, Chan and Lee knew the truth. They knew Bruce followed me home that day. They tried to convince the Police, their parents, everybody. Nobody believed them because the 'culprit' had already confessed, and he had been punished. From that day on, those three have hated me with a passion. They went as far as Bruce did, and they lost a lot of sympathy. They were well liked before that, but after that, everyone steered clear of them and me. They were pure evil, I was related to a 'killer'." He fell on his stomach, and sobbed into his paws.

"Poor little Lucius, his brother took the blame for your doings. You did the right thing! That Hitmontop was weak, and deserved to die!" Bella yelled at him. Lucius looked at her, his eyes black. Bella's eyes were to.

"What did you say?" Lucius whispered, threateningly. Bella collapsed as a dark form erupted from her body without damaging her outer skin.

"I said, you did the right thing." He said.

"Darkrai." Lucius growled.

He nodded. "In case you don't know, you **were **possessed that day. By me." He gloated. "I knew you were powerful, strong enough to beat him without Ember, or any other type of help." He folded his arms, floating above Bella's body. She was breathing, but barely. "You should join me Lucius. With you on the inside, we could stop Arceus!"

"Why would I do that? Arceus is trying to prevent you from bringing humans here!" Lucius yelled angrily.

"My plan will completely destroy humans, erasing them from the entire world, freeing Pokémon everywhere! They will hail me as a god, and Arceus will be killed for not freeing them sooner!"

"You're an idiot." Lucius growled. "Arceus has seen this all happen. He knows your plan will not stop humanity, but bring them and our doom."

"Maybe your right…" Darkrai mused, before punching Lucius in the face. "And maybe you're a blathering idiot! You spurned you last chance. Next time we meet, Bella will die. And I won't kill you, I'll let you die from old age." He grinned as he melted into the ground.

Lucius got up, his head throbbing insanely. Darkrai was gone, and Bella was still unconscious. Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, he dragged her to the house. He pushed her inside the window, gently guiding her to the floor, and he laid her down for a rest. He jumped out of the window to look around. Her house was a large single story house, painted all brown with a triangular roof. The windows were octagons with just curtains on them. Outside the house was a tree where Lucius confronted Darkrai, and his past.

"So, if Darkrai possessed me when I killed Bruce, am I still guilty?" Lucius asked himself, laying up against the tree.

"Have you been a good boy?" Nicholas said as he landed next to Lucius.

"No, no I haven't." Lucius mumbled to himself.

"Oh…well…" Nicholas said, scratching his head. "I can't help it. Mew told us to give you Ancient Scrolls, and I have one here." He pulled one out of his brown sack and handed it to Lucius, who took it in his mouth. "Well…be good!" he chirped happily before flying off.

Lucius opened the scroll. "Hmm…blade…testing…tch." He said, rolling up the scroll. "Night Slash. More dark magic." He growled angrily. The sun was coming up, so he snuck into Bella's room and lay down next to her, snuggling up to her.  
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Bella woke with a start. She stared at Lucius, terrified. "What's wrong?" he asked, getting up and stretching.

"You killed Bruce, you told me last night!" she squealed, terrified.

He looked at her oddly. "What are you talking about? I was asleep all night long. Slept like a bay." He said with a grin, licking her cheek. "No more Sitrus berries for you before bed." He added with a laugh.

"So, it was just, a dream?" she asked. Lucius nodded. "Thank goodness. That scared me to death." She laughed. Lucius laughed alongside her.

"Oh, Nicholas, that crazy Delibird, dropped off another scroll." Lucius said, handing it to her. "Why don't you translate it for me?"

She grinned. "Okay…" and she laid down next to the scroll to study its letters. Lucius stood, his heart torn in pain. She knew his secret, but she thought it was a dream. How would he feel close to her now, now that he knew she was scared of him?

**Whew. Didn't know Lucius had a Hitmontop skeleton in his closet. Don't blame me, this will push him towards a decision later in the story.**

**I do not own Pokemon, that belongs to nintendo, game freak etc etc I really wish i did, and don't sue me!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Here Come the Scrolls!

Lucius grinned as Bella told him the scroll taught Night Slash. "Good job Bella." He said, licking her cheek. She grinned happily.

"Thanks Lucius." She smiled as she rolled the scroll up. "What do you want to do with this?" she asked, gesturing towards the scroll.

"Show it to my parents, maybe then they'll believe us." Lucius said. Grabbing the scroll with his mouth, he walked out of their room. Next to their room was Kristi raising Raven, who hopped around happily. Outside, both their parents were sitting and talking to each other. Lucius' dad noticed them, and soon all four heads swiveled to look at them.

"And what do you two think you're doing…what's that?" Bella's mom asked, walking over to grab the Ancient Scroll from Lucius' mouth. "Where did you get this?" she asked, putting the scroll down.

"Last night one of the Pokémon assigned to help defeat Darkrai dropped it off. His name was Nicholas, and he's a Delibird." Lucius said boldly.

"Lucius, stop making up stories, it just makes you…" Lucius mom started.

"Aaaahhh!!! My little man servants!" Lucius turned to see King Cavalon walking up, humming happily with a scroll in each hand. "How are my little workers?" he asked.

"Mom, Dad, Mom, Dad," Lucius said, addressing both his biological parents and his parents in law, "This is King Cavalon, another Pokémon assigned to stop Darkrai."

"Who are you?" Lucius' dad stood and walked over.

"How do you not know your king?" King Cavalon asked, hurt. "I am King Cavalon, the most loved Slowking in all the world! Mew personally asked me to stop Darkrai by collecting scrolls to find Final Judgment." He walked over and handed two scrolls to Lucius. "Here you go, now translate them for me. I am very busy."

Lucius' dad was still looking at Cavalon while Lucius and Bella translated the scrolls. "This one is…Flash Cannon." Lucius said, rolling his scroll up.

"Trick Room here." Bella said, disappointed.

"Oh well…back to searching. Oh, and I passed some fighting types who had scrolls heading here." Lucius tensed up. "Good-bye my little man servants." King Cavalon said merrily before strolling off.

Both Bella and Lucius' parents were speechless as the Slowking walked away. They looked at Bella and Lucius, Bella smiling grimly, than talked to each other silently. Lucius' dad walked over.

"Lucius, Bella, what did Mew ask you two to do again?" he asked. Lucius smiled as he dove into the story. When he finished explaining a second time, their parents had a grimmer visage about it. "So, you two, well Chika, Flare and Croc included, should be out looking for scrolls?" he asked sheepishly. Lucius and Bella nodded. "I guess that we'll have to…"

"No. We will not let them go." Lucius' mom said. "We can go instead, but they're too young." Lucius' eyes were filling with tears of anger.

"Mom…" he seethed, "We have to do this. If Darkrai isn't stopped…well the world won't be so pleasant to be around anymore."

His mom looked hurt. He walked over, stood on his hind legs, and licked her cheek. Looking into her eyes, he said "Mom, I have to do this. We have to stop Darkrai. Bella and I have each other, and Chika, Flare and Croc. We'll be safe."

"Fine…" she said, before Bella's mom and she walked into the house.

Bella's dad walked over. "Lucius, I'm okay with you two doing what you have to do. Just please, protect my daughter?" he pleaded.

"With my life." Lucius said firmly. Smiling, both their dads went into the house. Just than, Ty, Chan and Lee walked up with scrolls in their hands.

"Bella, go inside, I'll translate these." He whispered. She looked at him.

"Lucius, I know last night wasn't a dream," Lucius froze up. "But I still love you. But please don't hurt them, we need allies against Darkrai." She kissed his cheek and walked into the house.

"Ty, Chan, Lee, I see you have scrolls for me." Lucius said stiffly. Ty threw a scroll at him, and they started to walk away. "Stop." Lucius growled. They stopped dead in their tracks. "We have something to discuss."

"Lucius, you freak." Ty started, his face a mask of rage. "We know you killed our brother, and won't rest until…"

"I did." Lucius said, shocking all three of them. "I did kill your brother, and I'm sorry." Lucius bowed his head.

"And you should die for it!" Chan growled, his fists balling up.

"No, he should have died for it. You three decided to tease, make fun of and bully me for being different. He took it the farthest. It taught you three a lesson; don't mess with people because you'll never know what they're capable of." Lucius finished. They looked shocked, angry, and hurt.

"That's no excuse. You killed our brother, and now you're going to pay." Chan growled.

"If you three really want to fight me, than let's dance. If I killed him without Ember, than I can really do some damage with Flamethrower." Lucius growled, lowering himself into an attack position. "But I don't want to fight you. I am tired of feeling remorse over something that happened years ago. I'm facing you three knowing my actions were not my own, and I am not to blame."

"What, did Darkrai possess you or something?" Ty sneered, his fists clenching.

"Yes he did." Lucius put flatly, still in an attack position, his Lucky bandana still around his neck, and boy did he hope he got lucky.

"You're lying. You just killed our brother because he was having fun." Lee said.

"No, Darkrai possessed me. I'm done with this conversation, and you can either take that as the truth or let the hate burn you up." Lucius turned and walked back to his house.

Chan and Lee stood there, uncertain of what to do, but Ty made up his mind. He charged at Lucius, intent on murder. Bella came out of the house, screaming.

Lucius felt him approaching, and let out a Dark Pulse. It knocked Ty off his feet, allowing Lucius to turn to face him. But, he didn't feel any horrible guilt or after effects from using Dark Pulse. Ty got to his feet again, still intent on revenge.

"I'm warning you Ty, I don't want to fight you." But Ty would have none of it. He charged again, but before he could get anywhere, he was outlined in a purple glow. Ty felt himself levitate off the ground, than thrown backwards, landing at Chan and Lee's feet. "Extrasensory." Lucius smiled. Ty picked himself up, and the three left without a further word.

Bella ran over to him. "Lucius, you shouldn't have done that…" she warned.

"Bella, they wanted to attack me. I was defending myself." He said. They were about to walk into the house when a Bayleef, Quilava and Croconaw walked up.

"Hey Lucius, got another scroll for you." The Croconaw said with a toothy grin.

"Croc?" Lucius whispered. The Croconaw nodded. "Flare." Lucius said, looking at the Quilava who grinned. "What the heck happened to you two?"

"Well, we snuck out yesterday and went looking for scrolls. We got into a big fight with a Dusknoir. He was accompanied by Chuck and Snake, the Medicham and Ekans who were with Specter. We evolved after that fight, and than we brought the scrolls to you." Flare explained. He stood on his back legs just because he could. "It felt horrible evolving, but it was so worth it. So can you kids translate these?"

Lucius bristled when he said that. "What do you mean, kids?"

Chika stepped in. "Nothing, it's just something you say," she said quickly. "You know, as a joke."

"Well Flare, let me just remind you we're all the same age. _Exactly_, the same age, so don't go saying 'kids'." Lucius growled.

"Cool off Lucius, it was just a joke." Flare said, his eyes narrowing.

"But you perfectly know we can't evolve until we expose ourselves to Fire stones." Bella bristled, stepping up next to Lucius.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way you took it. We have to go home; our parents are going to be worried about us." Flare said as they walked away. Lucius and Bella looked at each other.

"They've evolved, and now we're the only ones still in our basic form…" Lucius said, walking back to their house. The sun was setting in the distance. He dragged the box Bone gave them out from under their nest.

"Lucius, what are you doing?" Bella asked nervously.

"Bella, we need to be stronger if we're going to fight Darkrai." Lucius started.

"No, that's not it. You just want to evolve so they can't call you 'kid'. Lucius, we shouldn't take this decision lightly, this will change our lives." She warned.

"Than what should we do?" Lucius asked.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Flare's Grief

Flare, Chika and Croc walked home after the confrontation with Lucius and Bella. Flare was slightly ahead of Croc and Chika, his back flames raging, signaling his anger. "Who does he think he is? I make a simple joke and he loses his mind! Freaking unstable little nutcase…" he continued to swear in that manner.

"You have to admit, that joke was poor in taste Flare…" Chika muttered. Flare turned to glare at her angrily. "You know they can't evolve until they find Fire Stones…"

"But why did he have to lose his mind because I made a simple comment?" Flare demanded.

"You're just mad at him because…" Croc started.

"Don't say it, Croc." Flare warned.

"You're just mad because you and Bella went out a while back and now they're mates." Croc said firmly. Flare scowled at him.

"He's right, y'know." Chika told Flare. "You wouldn't have cared if you and Bella hadn't gone out, or if Lucius and Bella hadn't met."

"Whatever, all I want to know is what she sees in him." Flare growled. "We could have been mates. But he had to show up and mate with her."

"You two were over long before he showed up. That and she loves him, wouldn't you want them to be happy?" Chika asked. They were standing near the pools they swam in a few weeks earlier.

"But what about me? Why couldn't she have been happy with me?" Flare growled, his flames igniting passionately.

"You need to calm down Flare. They're in love. She didn't feel that way about you and you knew it." Croc said. "I'm going home, come on Chika." Croc and Chika walked away from the fuming Quilava. As they walked, Flare turned to glare at their backs angrily.

"Arceus I hate him." Flare growled.

"And what if you could take care of him?" A voice said. Flare dropped into a defensive posture as a dark figure came out of the ground, his white hair and black limbs flowing evilly in the wind.

"Darkrai." Flare remarked.

Darkrai floated over behind Flare, resting his hand on his shoulder. "What if you could go back in time and prevent Lucius from ever meeting Bella?" Darkrai suggested innocently.

"I'm listening…"  
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Pain. That was Lucius' entire world. His eyes were sealed shut as pain seared across his entire body. He felt Bella swiping against him as they seizure across the floor. It felt as if his paws were on fire. His tails curled up and relaxed as he felt them growing. He heard Bella scream, but could do nothing to help her. She was in her own world, as he was. He tried to say something, but all that came out of his muzzle was an indecipherable snarl. He felt his world enter another seizure of pain, and he blacked out.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Brandi asked, concerned. They heard the yells and screams from outside. The entire family, both sides, had met in front of Lucius and Bella's room.

"Vuuuul-pix!" Raven said, scratching at the door. Kristi picked her up by the scruff of her neck and handed her to Sean, who took her to their room to put her to bed.

"We can't do anything to help the two. They choose this path, and they have to deal with the pain and problems by themselves." Bella's mom told them, her and Bella's father sitting in the back with Lucius' parents.

"Let's go Chama, I can't stand to hear their screams." Brandi said, and the two walked outside. Kristi strolled into her room to lie down with Raven. She closed the door as the little Vulpix tried to get out and comfort Lucius and Bella.

"Do you think they'll get hurt?" Lucius' mom asked worriedly.

"No, they have each other. And they're locked in there nice and tight." Bella's dad reassured her.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Somebody called down the hall. Turning, they saw an Alakazam, Tyranitar and Charizard standing at the base of their home.

The fathers walked out to meet them while the mothers stood outside Lucius and Bella's room, comforting each other over the yells of their children.

"Yes, may I help you?" Lucius' father asked.

"I'm sorry, I thought this was Lucius' home…?" The Alakazam asked.

"This is where he lives, yes. I'm Brann, his father. This is Ohen, Bella's father."

"Oh, well we're Team. A.C.T. and Mew told us to give Lucius these scrolls so he could decipher them." Charizard told him.

"Yes, yes he told me about that. Thank you," Brann took the three scrolls they had and placed them down. "I shall decipher these as soon as I get the time. You see my son…"

"Hmm…yes. That is a problem. But it shall blow over in due time. It has been a pleasure meeting you," Alakazam said with a bow. They turned and walked away.

"So Bella and Lucius were telling the truth about the whole Mew business." Ohen said, looking at the scrolls curiously.

"Yes it seems they were. Now to get to work on deciphering these scrolls." Brann said, taking the scrolls and walking into his room.

"Lume, do you think they made the right choice?" Bella's mom asked.

"Of course Leipsna. Bella is strong, and Lucius is too." Lume, Lucius' mom, reassured her. "It's a tough ride, but it's never killed anyone."

Leipsna smiled and walked out to meet Ohen. Lume sat there, the screams having died down slightly. Slightly, but they were still there. "It'll be over soon, son." She said, laying her paw on the door before walking away.  
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"This is our lair, Flare." Darkrai chuckled. Flare was standing next to Darkrai as they walked down the gloomy, black halls. "And this is my new Agent X." A Kecleon materialized out of thin air.

"And who is this?" The Kecleon hissed. It had green skin, but the normally red stripe around its stomach was obsidian black, and its eyes were blood red.

"This is Flare, he's agreed to help us in exchange for us sending him back in time so he can change things back to normal." Darkrai explained, floating past Agent X. Flare looked at him curiously before walking past.

"Dusk, Snake, Chuck, come here." Darkrai commanded. Suddenly a Dusknoir, Ekans and Medicham were kneeling behind Flare. "Have Dialga prepare a Time Warp. We are sending our newest…" he eyed Flare. "recruit, on a little time trip. Oh, and call back Specter. I believe he has learned his lesson."

Bowing, they walked away. A dark hole appeared in the wall and a Gengar flew through. The Gengar landed forcefully, and the black hole vanished. "Have you learned your lesson, Specter?" Darkrai hissed.

Specter looked up; his red eyes a deep burgundy. "Yes, Master." He said, his voice dripping with hate.

Darkrai's eyes gleemed. "Good, I have need for you to accompany Flare here," he said, gesturing to Flare. "Into the past and destroy Lucius."

Flare looked at Darkrai, aghast. "I didn't want to destroy him, just prevent him from meeting Bella!" Flare yelled.

"I'm sending you into the past to destroy Lucius, and you can get with your love." Darkrai told him.

"I'm not going to destroy Lucius." Flare said angrily.

"Fine." Darkrai gestured, and Flare felt himself fly across the room and stick to the wall. "You leave me no choice, Flare." Darkrai chanted, "_Atrum phasmatis , usus is stultus pignus_!" Suddenly, a dark figure came out from the wall and floated in front of Flare. Flare felt his body go cold as the figure melted into him.

Flare's eyes glowed red before resuming their natural color. "I will go back in time and destroy Lucius, my Lord." Flare bowed before Darkrai.

"No, I have need of Lucius, destroying him was a hasty decision. He is in charge of deciphering the Ancient Scrolls, correct?" Darkrai asked. Flare nodded. "Than, until such time that he is useful. Now, return to your village, make up with the two, and relay information to me. When he finds Final Judgment, burn it up at any and all costs." Darkrai ordered. Flare bowed, and walked out.

Darkrai chuckled. "Dusk, Snake, Chuck, Pickpocket, Sneak, Thief come here." They materialized before him. The three Weaviles looked happy to serve, while Specter was glaring at Dusk, full of hate. "Agent X, I have need of you as well." The Kecleon ended his camouflage. "Now, Specter you may take control of Team Meanies once again." Specter walked over to join Chuck and Snake while Dusk floated away. "I want you three to return to the world. You shall be my eyes and ears around Dweder and that area."

Nodding, the three hopped away happily. "Dusk, you and Agent X shall return to the Police Force as normal and keep an eye on them. If any of Mew's Summond Ones have alerted the public, let me know immediately." Agent X nodded, and Dusk placed his hands on Agent X's shoulders. A dark hole appeared under them and they fell through. That left Pickpocket, Thief and Sneak.

"We have a Thunderstone, Water stone, Leaf Stone, Sun Stone and Moon stone. I am still gathering intelligence on where to get a Shiny stone, Dusk stone, Dawn stone, Fire stone and Oval stone. I need you three to be ready at all times to steal some for me."

"Got it Master." Sneak said. "Anything else?"

"Yes." The three Weaviles leaned in eagerly. "I need you three to get out of my sight. Now." The three were gone before he finished.

Darkrai floated around, thinking hard about what Lucius had said. _'Could my plan fail? Will I bring humans here?'_ he was beginning to doubt his plan. But he would carry on, doubtless of any fears.  
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Lucius' eyes opened up as the sun flooded his room. He got to his feet, his sense of balance temporarily out of sync. Walking over to a pail of water, he leaned down to drink. What he saw shocked him.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

This is Strange…

Flare stood at the edge of the forest, his body still possessed by Darkrai's evil spirit. He knew his mission, to spy on Lucius and relay all information back to his Master. But on the inside, Flare fought for control. The spirit was strong and restraining his will back. He didn't know Darkrai wanted him to kill Lucius, he just wanted to stop Lucius from meeting Bella. _'Stop your fighting, weak mortal. I have been given a mission by our Master, and I intend to finish it.'_ The dark spirit told Flare. The Quilava's body didn't move at all, but inside two spirits attacked each other.

Flare started to walk forward towards town, the real Flare's memories directing him towards his house. He didn't blink, he didn't need to. While possessed, he didn't need to blink, sleep or eat. But in order to remain inconspicuous, he had to blink, sleep and eat. As he got into town, he walked straight towards his house. When Flare's parents opened the door, they were enraged.

"Where were you?!" Flare's mom screeched, the egg she held previously having hatched and a little Cyndaquil was running around the floor energetic. "Well, answer me young man!"

"Mother, I have no need to answer to you. I am going to bed now, do not disturb me." Flare muttered, walking right past her on his back two legs. She watched him, dumbfounded at her son's cruelty. When he got into his room he barricaded the door and climbed out the window. "Now to find Chika and Croc." Possessed Flare smiled.  
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Lucius felt the ground give way, and he landed on his three extra tails, hard. He yelped in pain, waking Bella. "What's going on?" she asked, trying to get up but falling quickly.

"You know, when we decided to evolve, I didn't think it would suck this much!" Lucius growled, getting to his feet. The dizzy spell he felt had passed, and he could look at his new form. His fur was no longer a reddish hue; it was thick, whitish color now. He had a ruff of fur around his neck. His tails, now nine in number, were straight and had an orange tip at the end. He couldn't see his head, but looking at Bella, he realized he must have long, white hair at the top of his head too.

"But it's nice, being adults now. Consenting, adults…" Bella added seductively. Lucius smiled and walked over, curling up around her, his new tails intertwining with hers.

"Yes, but I'm not ready to have kids yet. I hope you understand," he said, licking her cheek.

"Yes, I understand. But I'm glad we decided to become Ninetales. Nevertheless, I would have become a Ninetales without you, wouldn't that have been fun? Me a Ninetales and you a Vulpix…" she giggled happily. Lucius leaned in and kissed her.

"I would have done it if you had. I love you, remember?" He reminded her. He got up and stretched. "Now Chika, Croc and Flare are the kids…" he grinned.

"I'm hungry…" Bella whimpered. "Can you get me something to eat?"

"Nah, the dizzy spell should have worn off. Let's go get something to eat." Lucius said. Getting up, flexing her beautiful body, Bella joined Lucius as they walked out of the house.

"Here's the new Ninetales!" Kristi yipped happily, running over with Sean and Raven right behind her. "Did you like evolving?"

"No, it was awful…I'm glad I can't evolve again." Bella mumbled. Kristi smiled.

"I'm hungry, let's go bro and sis." Kristi said with a smile. They walked off, Bella and Kristi yipping excitedly while Lucius' thoughts were elsewhere.

'_Darkrai has to be stopped, but if we get out there we might be able to find Final Judgment quicker.'_ Lucius thought. When the sun hit them, Bella and Lucius were overcome with energy. They ran around, nuzzling and nipping at each other happily. Lucius nipped at her ear, she nibbled at his ruff of hair around his neck, and he nuzzled against her chest. "Why do I feel this way?" Lucius laughed.

"I don't know, but I feel great!" Bella said, running around the tree. Lucius flipped her over, overcome with joy. She laughed and Lucius jumped on top of her, licking her muzzle happily.

"Awww…how cute." Lume said. "Oh, when Fire types evolve, they become more attuned to the sun, our source of power. So, these energy boosts you're feeling are normal, and **might** eventually fade away."

Lucius lay there, staring up at the sky. Bella snuggled up to him, warming him up. "Ahh…this is the life." Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise filled the air. Snapping to attention, Lucius saw a Vespiquen and her Combee subjects flying towards them.

"Lucius?" the Vespiquen buzzed. Lucius nodded. "I am Elizabeth the Vespiquen. I have a three Ancient Scrolls for you." She buzzed at the Combee and several flew forwards, scrolls being carried by them. They dropped the scrolls at his feet before backing off. "Can you translate these, please?" she asked.

"Let's see…" he opened the first one. "Flamethrower here. The next one is…Razor Wind. And the next is…another Flamethrower. Sorry, no Final Judgment here."

"Very well, adventuring in the wild world is great for the body and the soul. Farewell, Lucius." The Vespiquen bowed and buzzed off. Turning, Lucius saw Bella laying there looking at him.

Lucius walked over and pawed her chest before lying down. "Hungry, sweetie?" he asked. She nodded happily. Standing on his hind legs, he smacked some berries down and moved them next to Bella. They ate them contently, basking in the sun's warm glow. As Lucius lay there, he thought about when they would leave to search for Ancient Scrolls. Bella and him on the road, maybe Chika, Croc and Flare would join them. He smiled as he thought about the five of them on the road and on a great journey.

"Lucius, this is great. I feel so relaxed," Bella said, snuggling up to him. She laid her head against his neck and he licked her cheek, making her giggle happily. "But, I really want to go on our journey and find Ancient Scrolls. So, I'm ready to leave, are you?"

"Yes, but I want to tell our parents we're leaving before we do. And I want to get on good terms with Flare before we leave, so I'll have to apologize to him and let Chika and Croc know we're leaving." Lucius told her. She kissed him and he smiled. "So, let's do all that today." She smiled happily. Getting up, they walked inside their house. "Mom, dad, can we talk to you?"

All four of their parents were inside the living room in a second. "Bella and I want to leave." The four parents stared at them questioningly.

"Mommy, daddy, not leave this house like move out. We want to join the search for Ancient Scrolls. We want to add an extra set of paws in the search for the scrolls, and we can't do it here." Bella told her parents. "We love all of you, but we have to stop Darkrai. So, we want your permission before we leave."

"You have it. The truth is, Brandi and Chama left when they learned that what you said is true. They said they wanted to help out and walked out. Kristi and Sean wanted to, but they need to take care of Raven. So you have permission to travel the world." Bella's father told Bella.

"Lucius, you can go to. Make sure you protect Bella and stay safe, both of you." Lucius' mom said. She walked over and licked both their cheeks. "I've packed bags for both of you. And Lucius, you might want to wear this." She produced his Lucky bandana. He reached around his neck and realized it must have fallen off during evolution. Bella tied it around his neck, and than Lucius took the orange stones she normally wore, which also fell off, and put them around her neck. They smiled at each other.

"Here you go son." Lucius' dad said, putting down two packs at Lucius and Bella's feet. "There's food, water and money to purchase supplies if you run low."

"Thanks Dad." Lucius said, strapping on a pack. "We're going to let Croc, Chika and Flare know we're going, and let them come with us if they want." Hugging their parents, Bella and Lucius headed to town.

Lucius and Bella met Chika and Croc, the latter heading towards Lucius and Bella's house, the both of them with packs like Lucius and Bella's.

"Oh my goodness, you two evolved!" Chika said, running up to them.

"Yep!" Bella told her, smiling.

"Let me guess, you two were going to tell us you were leaving and wanted to know if we were going to join you?" Lucius asked.

"Wow, you're Psychic!" Chika giggled. "Exactly, so, do you guys want to join us?"

"Yes we do. Now, let's find Flare so I can apologize and ask him if he wants to go." Lucius said. They started to walk away when they ran into Flare. "Look Flare, I'm…"

"No, it's my fault. My joke was in poor taste and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Now, you guys look ready to adventure, can I join?" Flare asked with a smile.

"Sure. Now, are you guys ready to adventure?" Lucius asked with a smile. Everybody nodded, and they walked.

"What are we doing at the pools?" Lucius asked curiously.

"We can see everything in all directions from here." Flare said, leaning against the tree he had napped under only a short while ago. "Now, which direction should we head? I say we go west, over Mount Coronet and towards Lucius' old home." Flare grinned when everyone looked at him. "Hey, I wanna see Lucius' old friends and embarrass him." They laughed at that.

"I'm okay with going west. Any direction would be fine. The farthest I've gone from here is Mount Coronet and the Hall of Origins. Bella, Croc, Lucius, what do you guys think?" Chika said with a grin. The leaves around her neck let off an overwhelming aroma, meaning she was excited.

"I'm good going anywhere, it wouldn't matter to me." Croc told them. "Besides, anyway we go we're going to meet with Darkrai's minions, and that means chances to become stronger." He flashed a toothy grin.

"Meh, it doesn't matter to me either, as long as we get away from here and into adventure." Bella rubbed against Lucius. "How about you Lucius? Where do you want to go?"

"It would be nice to see my old home again. So, let's head towards Mount Coronet and towards my old home." Lucius said with a smile. They started to walk when they heard the beating of wings. Turning, they saw a Delibird flying towards them. "Nicholas, is that you?!" Lucius yelled. The Delibird nodded and landed. "Got more Ancient Scrolls?"

"Sorry Lucius, no scrolls. But if you've been good, I do have a message for you." He pulled a scroll out of his pack and handed it to Lucius. "It's from Team A.C.T. Anyway, I have to get going. More presents to deliver!" and with that he flapped his wings and flew away.

Lucius unrolled the scroll and read the message.

_Dear Lucius,_

_I hope you are able to heed this cry for help. We were investigating the town of Bedrag when we learned of a Darkrai base here. We have reason to believe there is a stash of Ancient Scrolls inside. Bedrag is two days travel directly east of Dweder. Please hurry; we need help infiltrating this base._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Team A.C.T._

Lucius reread the scroll twice to make sure he read it correctly. "I guess we're heading east." Lucius explained. He shot a flame at the scroll, burning it and preventing Darkrai's agents from getting their hands on it.

"Team A.C.T. is asking us for help?! Cool!" Bella yipped excitedly, her nine tails whipping excitedly.

"So, do we answer this plead for help?" Flare asked, looking around.

"Yes," they all said in unison before walking east.

**I do not own Pokemon. I only own the characters in this story, but not the creatures they are. Plz review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry it took so long to update. I had major adventure writers block. But I got over it and now we're back to the show!**

Chapter 18

What a Muk

Lucius walked, Bella and the others just behind him. They had left Dweder, but now they were in parts unknown to the friends. And it stank. Literally.

"Lucius, I'm going to hurl…" Corc muttered, his face green. Lucius couldn't blame him.

At first the forest was a green haven, but the deeper they got the more disgusting it was. The trees weren't green anymore, they were twisting and a rotting brown. Grass wasn't common, now it was dirt and some kind of clumpy goo. And the stench…the stench was almost overwhelming.

"Why did we have to come this way?" Flare mumbled again.

"Because we have to help Team A.C.T." Lucius replied, but he regretted it. Every moment he opened his mouth he felt as if he would hurl. He closed his mouth and refused to say anymore.

The twisting tree's roots were upraised and everyone and to be careful not to trip and fall. Bella and Lucius were having the hardest time, not accustomed to their newest form. Bella had an easier time, she was more graceful than Lucius, her nine tails flicking into his face often, which just as often made him smile.

"Ugh, the stench got worse!" Chika yelled, her face contorted with anger and disgust. "Let's leave, this is nasty." Lucius shook his head, not wanting to open his mouth.

As they were walking, Lucius came to a sudden stop, making the rest of the group stop behind him. "What's wrong Lucius?" Flare asked angrily.

Lucius nodded his head towards a big, purple goop. It was almost like a lake, but the water was a deep, clumpy purple. There wasn't any seeing through it, there wasn't seeing your own reflection in it. "What is this?" Flare mumbled, picking up a stick and sticking it in the purple lake. He tried to pull it out, but it was stuck and stuck good. He pulled harder and the purple gunk held fast. "Man this is gross…"

Lucius stared at the purple lake. It wasn't a natural lake, and there were no Pokémon anywhere around it…

"We need to get out of here, now!" Lucius gagged, trying to get away. But the way they came was blocked by Grimer.

The friends all got into aggressive stances, ready to attack if the Grimer weren't friendly. Behind them they could hear slushing, as if something was pulling itself out of the lake. Turning slightly, he saw a giant Muk rising from the depths of the lake, a purple demon from nightmare's pulled into reality.

"What are you doing in Muk's Lake?" one of the Grimer asked.

"We're just trying to get to Bedrag and we accidentally came here." Flare replied. The Grimer looked at him, disbelievingly.

"Lies. You come to steal Muk's treasure!" the Grimer screamed angrily. "You want the treasure Lord Darkrai entrusted to Muk!"

_Darkrai gave something to these things? What did he give them?_ Lucius thought. "What did Lord Darkrai give to Muk for protection?" Lucius asked.

"You are some of Darkrai's onions?" A Grimer asked.

"Not onions you cleanie. It's minion." Another Grimer corrected.

"Yes we're some of Darkrai's minions. We were sent to check and make sure you still have the treasure." Flare said, looking at the Grimer.

"The treasure is safe. I have hid it in a place no one will find, not even Darkrai." The Muk said, startling the friends.

"Lord Darkrai could find it if he wanted." Flare sniffed angrily. Lucius looked at him. He was being awfully convincing…

"No, Darkrai is a fool. He gave me powerful magic to make me strong and now I guard my treasure." The Muk told them.

"What kind of magic did he give you?" Flare asked suspiciously.

"He make black ghosts fly in me and give me power." The Muk said. He extended a clumpy hand and some purple goop levitated up. "See? I have magic abilities. And now you leave."

"But where did you hide the treasure?" Flare asked, pushing the Muk.

"I hid treasure at the bottom of the lake. But, I have no need for them." He raised his hand and a bubble appeared on the top of the purple lake. It burst and a small treasure chest was revealed. The Muk pushed it over. "I will give it to you if you leave and don't come back."

"Deal." Flare said, ignoring the gags of his friends. The friends grabbed the treasure chest and walked away.  
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Later, when the friends were away from the stench. "Alright, let's open the chest!" Bella said.

Lucius fumbled with the chest but managed to open it. Inside where three Ancient Scrolls. "Alright, Bella help me translate these please." Lucius asked of his mate.

"I got…Hyper Beam." Lucius said. "And…Mega Punch. What do you got Bella?"

"This is a rare one, it's one of those never-burn Ancient Scrolls, and it teaches Strength." She told him. They packed the scrolls and began walking. Bella sighed. "What if Final Judgment isn't a real scroll?"

Everyone stopped to consider that possibility. No one really knew if it was real… "What if someone already found and used it long before this?" Lucius asked.

"I refuse to believe that. We have to find that scroll, even if it takes all of Pokémon time!" Flare growled passionately. Lucius looked at him.

'_Something's not right…he would've given up by now…'_ Lucius thought. "Well, it's getting dark. We should sleep for the night and get some rest. Tomorrow we find Team A.C.T. and help them." Lucius said. Everyone laid down, Bella and Lucius curling up next to each other before falling asleep.  
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Later that night…

"Lord Muk, a stranger approaches!" a Grimer said to his master.

"Who dares come to Muk's Lake?" Muk bellowed.

"A servant of Darkrai." Flare stepped forward, his eyes black. "You dare betray our Master?" Flare bellowed.

"Darkrai is your master, not mine! My magic is stronger than his!" The Muk said, summoning a tidal wave of goop.

"Don't think so." Flare growled. The Muk started to move the goop, but Flare started to mutter a spell. "_Atrum Veneficus , audite meus vox! Exuo is proditor of suus veneficus quod expello is ex is terra!_"

Muk screamed in agony, the goop falling around him. Suddenly dark figures erupted from his body and flew away. The Muk started to shrink slowly, making the Grimer scream in rage. Soon his body was outlined in black and he shrunk until he was gone.

"What did you do to our Master?" One of the Grimers screamed.

"I did what had to be done. He betrayed our Lord Darkrai and had to be punished. Now, will you all die like he did or will you pledge loyalty to Darkrai?" Flare threatened, the air filled with dark energy.

"We will never bow to Darkrai!" One Grimer yelled, jumping at Flare.

"_Intereo._" Flare said. The Grimer exploded in a rain of sludge. "Who else will oppose the Master?"

The other Grimer's sat still. "Good, now…" Flare looked around. "You." He said, pointing to a large Grimer. "You will be the leader around here. Any who pass will be tested, and if they fail you shall kill them. "_Fulcio per Atrum Phasmatis!_"

Dark figures came from the shadows and infused themselves into the Grimer. The Grimer emitted a dark black and a scream filled the air. When the darkness cleared a Muk stood there. "Thank you, Flare. I shall stand sentry for Darkrai."

"Good. Now I will be off." Flare was emitting dark energy in tendrils as he stalked through the forest, an evil grin on his face.  
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The next morning Lucius woke, not disturbing Bella. He stretched and looked around. Flare was lying there, sleeping contently, as was Croc and Chika. Lucius looked at Bella. She was so beautiful, her white fur shining brightly. Every aspect about her made his heart warm…

Lucius shook his head. He loved her dearly, but something else was happening. There was an intoxicating smell in the air…something that was drawing him in. She woke and shook her mane, stretching out her paws. "Good morning Lucius." She said, her voice enthralling.

"Good morning, my love." Lucius replied, curling up next to her. She giggled as he licked her passionately.

"Will you two stop the love fest and get to moving?" Flare asked grumpily.

"What's wrong with you Mr. Grumpy-Fur?" Bella snapped.

"We still have a long way to go and you two want to play Friends." Flare replied coldly. Lucius glared at him but got up. They started to hike through the wilderness.  
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Near nightfall they approached a town. They didn't enter, in case it was Darkrai controlled. "Do you think it's Bedrag?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, it is." A voice said. Lucius and the others jumped up and spun around, ready to fight. It turned out to be Team A.C.T. smiling. "That's the Darkrai controlled town Bedrag. There's a fortress on the far side and we need help to get in."

"Alright, let's go!" Lucius said. They hiked to the far side, saying nothing as they went. Than they saw the fortress.

It was huge, made out of black bricks. There were all sorts of Pokémon walking around, as if on patrol. "Wow it's going to be hard to get in." Lucius mumbled.

"Not really." Alakazam said. Lucius turned to see a bunch of guards standing next to him. Alakazam smiled. "Get 'em!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Betrayed

Lucius, Bella, Chika, Flare and Croc were led into the fortress, being jeered by the evil Pokémon. They were taken to cells and thrown in, Lucius and Bella in one and everyone else in their own.

"Alright, you stay here until our Master decides what to do with you." Alakazam sneered. His eyes were now a deep black, and his smile was no longer kind and caring. It was an evil sneer.

"Let me out!" Flare screamed, pulling at the bars.

"Why should I?" Alakazam asked angrily. Flare's eyes turned a deep black and Alakazam laughed evilly as apprehension dawned. "Ah…Lucius, one of your own was on our side." Alakazam gestured and a Nuzleaf walked forward and opened the door to Flare's cell.

"Flare, you were helping them?!" Chika yelled, betrayed.

Flare grinned at them, his black eyes no longer sparkling with joy as they once did. Now they showed the anger and hate he was filled with. "Why? Why did you do it Flare?" Bella asked.

"Because I loved you, and you spurned my affections to join Lucius. Since my love went unfulfilled, so will Arceus' prophecy." Flare snickered before walking away with Alakazam and the Nuzleaf. They were all alone.

Lucius growled, his eyes starting to turn black. "Lucius!" Bella pleaded, her cry bringing Lucius back.

"Sorry," he smiled at her apologetically. "But how could he do this? And why didn't you tell me he loved you?"

"We dated before you came along. But I didn't feel that strongly about him. He tried to kiss me, so we could be mates, but I turned him down. I knew I wasn't meant to be his mate." She shrugged. "I can't believe he would do something like this, though…"

Lucius looked around, the solid bars like little snakes made of iron. "Der! We're Fire types! We can burn through these!" Lucius built up fire power and released it at the bars. His flames made Chika and Croc sweat, even at the distance they were at, but the bars didn't melt. It didn't even bend from the heat. "What the-?"

"Don't bother. These bars are reinforced with magic." A voice said. Turning, the friends saw a Nuzleaf in the window. But it wasn't normal, it's normally brown markings were a light orange and it's leaf was small, signifying it as a female. "But of course, I could get the keys." She said, flipping off the ledge and landing in front of Lucius and Bella's cell.

"Who are you? And what do you want in return for helping us?" Lucius growled defensively.

"My names Ms. Leavz. And I don't want anything…yet. I'll help you if you promise me a favor in the future." She taunted, a smile on her face.

"Fine, but if you ask for anything vile I won't keep it." Lucius swore.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dare ask for anything against you gentlemen's, and ladies', conscious." She smiled. "Now, it'll take a while for me to get the keys and find a safe path out, but don't worry, relax, and I'll have you out in no time." She said, jumping into the window sill and, giving one last fleeting smile, disappeared.

"I don't trust her…" Croc growled. "We need to find our own way out." Suddenly another Nuzleaf ran in, his black eyes scanning the area.

"Stop talking in here!" he growled. Lucius felt out with Extrasensory, trying to push the Nuzleaf off balance. He felt not one, but two consciousness' inside the Nuzleaf. "If I hear you talking again…" he threatened, walking out.

"What's wrong Lucius?" Bella asked, licking his trembling cheek.

"That Nuzleaf has two spirits in it's body…it's as if another being is trapped in there…" Lucius said, laying down. "I have to think about this…"  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Good, you captured him." Darkrai hissed happily. Team A.C.T and Flare were kneeling in front of him. "Now…what should we use him for?"

"My Master, what if we have him translate scrolls for us, so if we find Final Judgment we could burn it quickly?" Flare suggested.

"A very nice idea, but we can't possess him. With Dark Pulse he could push out the spirits…but we can't let him know that…and possessing his friends won't help…" Darkrai mused.

"Than we take his mate and tie her up, and unless he cooperates we shock her." Tyranitar suggested. Darkrai smiled evilly.

"Yes…that'll do."

The dormant Flare heard this plan, and the rage gave him the strength to push the evil spirit down, temporarily. "No you won't! You won't harm Bella!" he yelled before the dark spirit pushed him back down. "I am sorry Master. This being got a surprise hold on me."

"No matter. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, initiate the plan." Darkrai commanded, melting into the shadows.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lucius and Bella were sleeping, curled up around each other protectively. Suddenly the cage door was thrown open and someone stepped in. Tyranitar grabbed Bella by the hair on her head and walked backwards, an eye on Lucius. Lucius growled and tried to charge at him but Alakazam threw him backwards with Psychic.

Bella whimpered as they hooked a collar around her throat and threw her back in. "Now, you're going to translate scrolls for us, or else…" he nodded at a Raichu holding strings attatched to Bella's collar. He used Thundershock and Bella screamed in pain. He gestured and Raichu stopped the Thundershock, making Bella faint into unconsciousness. "Translate these." Alakazam commanded, throwing scrolls inside the cage.

"This is Hyper Beam…this is Focus Punch…and this is…is…Flamethrower." Lucius stammered. Alakazam moved to summon them but Lucius stepped on the third scroll and absorbed the knowledge, burning it.

"Fool! Raichu, punish her!" Raichu grinned and shot a Thundershock, but Lucius bit the string before it hit her, absorbing the energy. "Why did you do that?" Alakzam roared.

"I wanted…to learn…Flamethrower." Lucius panted, still biting onto the string in case Raichu launched another attack.

Alakazam growled and took the other scrolls. "Fine, but be warned, do so again and your mate **will die**." He walked off, leaving Lucius and Bella unconscious with Chika and Croc screaming at them to wake up, concerned for their friend's safety.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thief, Pickpocket and Sneak landed on the building of a wealthy Pokémon. They had received intelligence that he owned an Oval stone and they were there to steal it. Looking around, making sure no one was outside and could see their activities, they jumped down and started to claw at the door.

The door's hinges broke and they moved it off to the side. They tiptoed in, making sure the guards didn't see them. There were a bunch of Machokes walking around on patrol, looking for thieves, like the three Weaviles. Looking around they saw an upper route along the chandeliers. Smiling, they scaled the walls and jumped from chandelier to chandelier, making no noise. They smiled when they got to a room with two guards, meaning there was some valuable treasure in there.

Climbing down slowly the Weaviles prepared three Ice Punches. Sneak and Thief moved to the far side of the Machokes and smashed their Ice Punches into their temples, sending them reeling into each other, where Pickpocket smashed his Ice Punch onto the top of their heads, freezing them. They dropped down silently, three shadows of the night. "Pickpocket, bring the door down." Thief whispered.

"I know…hold your Rapidash, jeez." Pickpocket said, outlining the door with his Metal Claw and set the door down silently, running in. On a pedestal in the middle of the room was an Oval Stone.

"This is almost too easy, huh?" Sneak said with a laugh.

"Yeah," Pickpocket smiled, grabbing the stone and placing it in his bag. That's when a Loudred screamed. They looked over and saw a Loudred yelling at the top of it's voice.

"How did we miss that?!?" Thief yelled. Suddenly the room was filled with Machoke.

"Well, this is an unexpected turn…" Pickpocket smiled.

A Machoke lashed out at Thief, but he ducked and raced over, using Slash on the Machoke, knocking him into two others. A Machoke punched Sneak, sending him reeling, and Thief sent an Ice Beam at him in return.

Pickpocket was jumping and lashing out with rapid Ice Punches at the two Machokes he was fighting. One was hit and it started thrashing, hitting the other Machoke, who grunted and fell when he was smashed in the face with an Ice Punch. Smiling, Pickpocket unleashed an Icy Wind against the Machokes, freezing most of them.

Soon the battle was over, with Pickpocket, Sneak and Thief smiling as they stood over their frozen foes. "How easy was that?" Pickpocket grinned.

"What's all the commotion?" a Machamp growled, walking into the room. "Thieves!" he snarled. The three Weavile's groaned in exasperation and rushed forward.

All three unleashed Ice Punches at him but he caught each in one hand and used the fourth to smash them in their heads. "Ice Beams!" Pickpocket commanded. They shot three Ice Beams at the Machamp, who put up three arms to block them, freezing them.

"I can still take you!" he growled. Pickpocket smiled and unleashed an Icy Wind while Sneak and Thief punched him with Ice Punches. The Machamp was soon overpowered and beaten down, his entire body frozen in a block of ice.

"More trouble than this is worth…" Pickpocket snarled before they all ran out.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Lucius, I don't get it. Why did you learn Flamethrower from that scroll if you already know it?" Chika asked. Lucius and Bella had awoke a while later, both groggy.

"It wasn't Flamethrower. It was a move I thought didn't exist…" he said, licking Bella feverantly.

"What move was it than?" Croc asked from his cell, still trying to pry the bars open.

"It was Exorcism." Lucius told them, nuzzling his mate, a crafty grin on his face.


	20. Chapter 20

**Okay, I've gotten an insane amount of PMs and emails asking if Bella is like Bella from Twilight or inspired by her. NO!!!!!! I hate Twilight, Bella means pretty in alot of romance languages. And god so help me if someone sends another PM like that I will hunt them down, cut their head off and stick their head on my mom's car's antenna and let her drive around with your head on her antenna!!**

Chapter 20

Freedom!

Lucius and Bella sat in their cells, waiting for Ms. Leavz to return with the keys so they could escape. Bella's neck still had the collar with a string attached, but the Raichu was gone.

"Lucius, what are we going to do? What is Mr. Leavz got captured or isn't really going to help us?" Bella whimpered, laying against his neck.

He licked her gently. "Don't worry, we'll work out something…"

"Aw…Ninetales love. Ick. Anyway, thanks for doubting me hun." Ms. Leavz said, jumping from the window, twirling keys. "I told you I would get you out of here." She said, putting the keys in and opening their cells.

"Thanks Ms. Leavz. I remember our deal, I just hope we can get out of here."

"Well I'm calling that favor in right now. That Nuzleaf is Mr. Leavz and he's my mate, but he's different now. I want you to fix him." She said, hands on her hips.

"Got it, let's go!" Lucius said, running over to the door. "Stand back, this is going to get hot." He built up flames in his throat and unleashed a Flamethrower at the door, melting it.

"Hey! The prisoners are escaping!" Mr. Leavz yelled.

Lucius stared at him, concentrating. "Help, the…" suddenly he stopped as a dark figure erupted from his body, making him fall to the ground. "What the…What happened?" he asked, holding his head.

"Honey! It's me!" Ms. Leavz said, helping him to his feet. "Thank you Lucius."

"Now I have a favor to ask of you. Can you get this collar off Bella?" Lucius asked. Ms. Leavz nodded and took the collar off in a second. "Thanks, we'll get out from here." And he ran off with his friends behind him.

In the next room the Raichu and some others were sitting there, chatting. Lucius smiled. "Alright, we'll fight and I'll exorcise them." Lucius said. The others nodded and they charged.

Lucius and Bella unleashed Flamethrowers while Chika unleashed her fury in multiple Vine Whips and Croc smashed people with Ice Punch. When the foes where down, Lucius would unleash an Exorcism attack and dark figures soon hit the air and evaporated. "What happened?" the Raichu asked.

"Well, you were possessed by dark spirits and you tortured my mate…let's see…" Lucius growled angrily.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, how do we get out of here?" Raichu asked.

"We keep running and fighting until we get out of here!" Lucius said.

"You're not going anywhere." A voice said. Turning Lucius saw Team A.C.T. and Flare standing there, cackling insanely. "We've been given orders to kill you, Lucius." Alakazam said, shooting a Charge Beam at them. Lucius unleashed an Extrasensory that stopped the Charge Beam and redirecting it back at the four.

Alakazam and the others jumped out of the way. Charizard unleashed a Flamethrower but Lucius jumped in the way, absorbing the blow. Bella jumped over and tackled Flare, pinning him. "Traitor!" she howls, going to bite him.

Chika takes Tyranitar, using her Vine Whips to keep him at a distance while Croc shoots Water Gun attacks at Charizard, leaving Alakazam to Lucius.

"Poor Lucius, what will you do when I torture your mate right in front of…" he stops and drops his spoons and grabs his chest, wheezing. Lucius feels his Extrasensory squeezing Alakazam's heart.

'_Do it, Lucius. Crush his heart…kill him…'_ a voice hisses. Lucius shakes his head and uses Exorcism on Alakazam, pushing quite a few dark spirits out of him.

"What happened?" Alakzam stutters, grabbing his spoons and crawling to his feet.

"Just help me restrain those three!" Lucius growled, running over and biting Charizard's wing, making him yell. Alakazam unleashed a Psychic that pinned Charizard. A solo dark figure erupted from his body and he groaned in pain. "Sorry about that puncture, but we need to restrain Tyranitar, he's going nuts!"

Tyranitar's tail shot out and smashed into Bella. Lucius roared with rage and ran over to her, making sure she was fine. "I'm…good. Dang he's strong." She muttered, managing a weak smile. Lucius smiled before turning his attention to Tyranitar. He shot a Flamethrower into his back, making him roar and turn his attention to Lucius. Than Chika shot a Vine whip that ripped his back, making him roar. Croc shot a Water Gun, and Tyranitar went crazy. That's when Lucius Exorcised him.

Flare looked around. "It's not over yet!" he growled. "_Atrum phasmatis , planto meus incendia exuro lemma!_" Suddenly flames erupted from the ground, burning them. Lucius yelped as the black flames licked at his fur.

Turning his attention to Flare, he tried to Exorcise him. His brain felt like it was being squeezed, and it was painful. A dark figure shot from his body, but Lucius could still feel others in him. The flames died down and Lucius kept pushing. Flare yelped as a dark figure shot out of his mouth, and another shot out of his eyes. Lucius' eyes started to burn from the strain, and he felt something cold drip from them. Another figure blasted out from his hands, but there were still three more.

Flare yelled out. "_Obfirmo illa everto in_-gah!" he yelled in pain as two figures left his body. Lucius' entire body was red hot from the torture, but he knew only one more figure was in Flare. Pushing, the last dark figure came out from his shadow. Lucius and Flare both collapsed from the effort.

"Lucius!" Bella cried, running over. Lucius' eyes were dripping blood madly, and she looked around at him, worried.

"Don't worry Bella, he'll be fine, just give him a minute." Alakzam reassured her.

Flare clambered to his feet. "You guys…I'm sorry…" he wheezed. "I didn't mean for…this to happen."

Croc and Chika walked over. "It's alright, you were possessed, it wasn't your fault." Chika smiled.

Lucius struggled to his feet, his head throbbing. "Alright, that was everyone, right? Can we leave now?" he begged.

"Wait!" Alakazam cried out. He Teleported, and came back in a second with a big, obsidian black chest. "There really was a chest full of Ancient Scrolls here. That's when we were captured and possessed."

"Great, let's leave!" Croc said, dragging the chest with Tyranitar.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once outside they were walking away in the moonlight when they saw a Dusknoir, floating there. "Dusk." Flare growled.

"Flare, you disappoint me." Dusk tutted. "_Centum quod tredecim phasmatis , suo mihi in somes quod phasmatis ut nos permoveo contero illa inimicus!_" Suddenly a hundred black spirits floated down from the sky and fused themselves with Dusk, making him scream in ecstasy from the sudden surge of strength.

"Yeah, I'm not going to be able to Exorcise that…" Lucius muttered.

"Don't worry, I remember a spell the spirits really feared, but it's going to take a while to cite it all." Flare said. "Let's see…" he said down and crossed his legs. "_Priinceps gloriosissime cælestis militiæ,_" he started.

The others jumped into action. Lucius and Bella snuggled up to each other and shot a conjoined Flamethrower which Charizard joined in with, hitting the Dusk Demon straight in the chest. Chika unleashed Razor Leaf after Razor Leaf while Croc summoned Ice Punches and continuously smashed Dusk. Tyranitar joined him using Stone Edge. "_Sancte Michaël Archangele, defende nos in prælio et colluctatione,_" Flare continued, making Dusk yell.

Dusk raised his arms and released many Shadow Balls, hitting all the friends. A ball was about to hit Flare but Lucius jumped in the way and took it, flying over him. "Lucius!" Bella yelled.

"Flare, I'll join in. Guys, keep hammering away at him!" Lucius started to Exorcise the spirits, only a few flying away.

"Q_uæ nobis adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum,_" Flare continued. "_contra spiritualia nequitiæ, in cælestibusus. Veni in auxilium hominum, quos Deus creavit inexterminabiles,_"

"**Stop it!**" Dusk yelled, shooting off three Dark Pulse beams. One hit Alakazam, another hit Charizard, and another went straight for Bella.

Lucius saw that and stopped Exorcising and used his Dark Pulse powers to draw the Dark Pulse away from her and let him hit himself. He drank it in, absorbing the power.

"_et ad imaginem similitudinis suæ fecit, et a tyrannide diaboli emit pretio mango!_" Flare finished. Dusk screamed one last time before all the spirits destroyed themselves. Dusk was destroyed along with them, his screams lasting long after him.

Flare's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out. "Alright, let's get going." Lucius said, pulling Bella onto his back while Chika and Croc put Flare on Chika's back.

They got back to Dweder, and Lucius and Bella walked home, letting Tyranitar, Charizard and Alakazam care for the black chest. "Mom, we're home." Lucius said, walking in.

"Good, we were worried about you two. Tomorrow, fill us in. But tonight, we have to go to the Pokémon center, Raven and Kristi aren't feeling well. You two stay here and we'll be back in the morning." Lucius' mom said, kissing his cheek before running out with the other three parents. Lucius and Bella walked into their room, the moon shining in the window.

"I'm exhausted…" Bella said, lying down. Lucius smelt her scent, the most alluring scent she'd ever given off. He smiled.

"Yeah," he said, laying on top of her. She looked at him and he kissed her.

She smiled and returned the kiss. "That was fun…" she said, leaving Lucius confused on what she was talking about.

"Is this?" Lucius asked, kissing her pasisonately.


	21. Chapter 21

**Short chapter, sorry. But this commences the end-game.**

Chapter 21

I'm a Mother?!?

Bella woke up, her stomach queasy. Lucius was lying next to her, his face pained. Another Darkrai dream perhaps…But something was wrong. Her stomach felt…full. "Oh no…"

Bella thought about last night. Their parents were gone, and Bella was in heat… "Lucius!" I yelled, terrified.

Lucius was up in a minute, his eyes scanning the room. He realized nothing was wrong, to him anyway, and looked at his mate. "What's wrong my love?"

"I think I'm…" she finished, the dreaded word a whisper. He smiled before realizing Bella was dead serious.

"You're pregnant?!?" he asked, his eyes wild. Bella nodded and he passed out.

"My manly mate…" Bella giggled.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My parents got home that day, near noon. "Bella, we're home!" Bella's mom called. Bella gulped, Lucius and her sharing nervous glances. Lucius had used his Extrasensory and confirmed it and they had thought about what they were going to say.

"Mom, Dad, we need to talk." Bella told their parents.

"I agree. What happened when you left?" Brann, Lucius' father, asked.

"That's not what we have to talk about. I'm…pregnant." Bella said, scared. It's not that she wasn't excited to be a mother, she was terrified. _'My whole life is going to change…'_

"Alright. Now, what happened?" Bella's dad asked.

Lucius looked at them incredulously. "Don't you understand? We're having kids!" he shouted.

"We understand, and we actually have been expecting it longer than you think. I know you're scared, but it'll be fine. Kristi, Leipsna and I will help you two through it. Now, what happened?" Lume, Lucius' mom, asked again. Shrugging, Lucius dove into the story.

'_I'm going to be a mother…'_ Bella thought excitedly. She didn't know what motherhood was, though. To her, just by observing her parents and Kristi, it seemed just looking after their kids and making sure they stayed safe.

"And we came back here, tired and hurt but otherwise okay." Lucius finished.

"So Darkrai can use magic to possess people?!" Ohen, Bella's father, cried incredulously.

"I believe so. I found an Ancient Scroll that taught Exorcism, and I can push those spirits out of the bodies, and Flare knows a long spell to push them out, but other than that I don't know any way we can get rid of them." Lucius told them.

"But how do we know if someone's possessed?" Lume asked.

"Psychic types can sense it, so naturally Darkrai would probably go after them first. But if you know Extrasensory, Psychic or some other Psychic moves you can tell. That's how I could tell who was possessed in the fortress and how I knew Bella was pregnant. And she has twins…" he added sheepishly.

"What?!?" Bella yelled. "Twins? Oh god this gets harder and harder…" she moaned.

"Sorry, I didn't want to freak you out." Lucius apologized. Bella swatted him on the back of the head.

"Yeah but this is so much better." She groaned. "God…raising twins."

"And laying the eggs and nurturing them!" Leipsna added mischievously. Bella glared at her.

"Thanks mom." Bella growled.

"Now, back to business. What if one of us is possessed?" Ohen asked.

"None of you are, trust me, I can tell. But you should be careful around others." Lucius warned.

"Alright, now, more scrolls came while you two were gone, but none of them contained Final Judgment." Brann said.

"Team A.C.T. has a black chest full of them, I'll get them and have them bring them here." Lucius said.

"No you don't." Bella growled. "Mom, Dad, can you two find them? I have to talk to Lucius, privately…" Bella asked.

"Sure dear, just don't hurt him." They added before running to town. Bella dragged Lucius to their room.

"What are we going to do?" Bella bemoaned.

Lucius looked at her, bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"Lucius, I can't help with missions anymore. I feel worthless…and I'll have to raise these two, and you might be gone." She told him.

Lucius growled, scaring her slightly. "I'm **_not _**leaving you, understand? These are my children too, and we need to raise them."

Bella looked at him crossly. "Lucius, you're the only one we know who can sense and exorcise the spirits. And you're strong. Arceus and all Pokémon need you. We can't be selfish…"

Lucius' tails swished angrily. "Why not? I don't see Arcues down here looking for the scrolls…he's in the Hall of Origins, sitting it up living the good life while you risked your life for some stupid scrolls!"

Bella lay on her side, looking at Lucius. She loved him, more than he knew or ever would, but she knew they had to help Pokémon before her. "I have our moms and your sister to help raise the child, excuse me, children. If you beat Darkrai we can raise them happily. But until than I need you to be strong and stay away, not for Pokémon's sake but for the sake of our children." She begged him.

Lucius looked at her, his heart torn. "What do you want me to do? Leave my love and my love's children to help Arceus stop some insane Pokémon?"

"Yes."

"Fine, I will. But, if I have to leave for a year and get home, Darkrai beaten, and they don't know how to say 'Daddy' I'm going to be super pissed." He growled. Bella giggled as he nuzzled up to her, licking her cheek.

"I dunno, maybe they might just learn 'Mommy'…" Bella teased.

"Lucius, Bella, Bella's parents are back, along with Team A.C.T and Chika, Flare and Croc. They have the chest." Brann told them.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They spent the better part of that day translating scrolls. Lucius' eyes were starting to hurt from looking at flimsy paper all day. "Not here. We just raided an entire fortress for a collection of scrolls that doesn't include Final Judgment!" Lucius roared, smashing the chest with his tails.

The chest flew over and it smashed into the ground. The bottom of the chest splintered and Lucius heard clanging inside. "What the…?" Brann asked.

Lucius walked over and started to scrape the bottom of the chest. Eventually, the wood broke away, revealing three black scrolls. "Three more…"

"This one…" Lucius said, unraveling the first of the three black scrolls. "Teaches Draco Meteor." He said, gasping. One of the most powerful moves in existence…

"This teaches Blast Burn." Brann yelled, looking at the second scroll.

Lucius unraveled the last one, staring at it's contents when Nicholas the Delibird flew down. "So, have you been a good boy Lucius?" he asked, putting three more scrolls down.

"Nicholas, I need you to fly to the Hall of Origins." Lucius said, staring at the scroll. Nicholas, Brann, Bella and the others were staring at him. "Tell Arceus we've found Final Judgment."


	22. Chapter 22

**We're nearing the end now. But don't worry fans. I don't mean to sound conceeded, but I've gotten alot of PM's from people asking me if I was ending this series. I'm ending this story, yes. But, since most of you were dissapointed I might make a spin off later. Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**

Chapter 22

The Meeting

Nicholas was dumbstruck, as was everyone else. "Al…right…" he whispered. Lucius smiled, and so did everyone else.

"We found it!!!" Lucius yelled excitedly, jumping up and down. Everyone started dancing, Flare and Croc, Chika and Bella, Lucius and Nicholas. They were singing, dancing and the air was filled with happiness. Until a weightlessness overtook Nicholas, Lucius, Chika, Flare and Croc. They saw the world flash.

"Greetings, all of you." Arceus said, his voice reverberating from around the entire room. Lucius looked around to see all the Pokémon who were there last time there again, looking confused. "Lucius here, has great news."

"We were in the middle of finding some scrolls! What gives!" A Hitmontop screamed. Lucius looked at him and recognized him as Ty.

"Ty, calm down. I found Final Judgment." Suddenly the Hall of Origin was filled with yells of triumph. "Arceus, where's Bella?" Lucius turned and looked at the God Pokémon.

"_I left your mate at home. Surely you didn't want your mate's children to be put in danger?"_ Arceus asked. Lucius realized he had implanted the question into Lucius' head with telepathy.

"No, no I didn't. Thank you." Lucius bowed and turned back to the group to address them.

"Well where is it?" a Salamence roared. Suddenly everyone turned, their eyes daggers…and Lucius noticed the scroll wasn't around.

"Um…well that is to say…it's kind of…I left it at home, alright?!?" Lucius yelled.

"Could've just said that. Don't have to be a spaz." The same Salamence said. Lucius glared at him.

"Arceus, can you teleport us home?" Lucius asked. "I mean, to my house?"

Arceus nodded. "Listen." His voice wasn't loud but everyone stopped talking. "This is going to be a major battle. There are many Ancient Scrolls you have collected, and they shall be put at Lucius' house as well. Make sure you are ready, going into this battle unprepared may cause death." Suddenly there was another blinding flash of light and someone swore loudly.

Lucius landed on the ground with a thud, yelping out. "Lucius!" Bella cried, running over. "Lucius, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Arceus summoned us, now we have…" Lucius turned around to see all the Pokémon that were at the meeting with Arceus. "A lot of Pokémon with us." He said cheerfully. "Well, let's get the sorting of Ancient Scrolls started.

Lucius went into the house along with Bella, Chika, Croc and Flare and dragged out the horde of Ancient Scrolls they had amassed. Lucius and Brann started to retranslate the scrolls and put them in order of type so the Pokémon could find them. "Listen!" Lucius called out to the crowd. Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Alright, we all know this battle against Darkrai and his forces will be long and hard. We've collected countless scrolls of all types and now Arceus has given us permission to learn from them. By types I will call you up and tell you each type of scroll. If you want to learn it you can if no one else objects. Agreed?"

A roaring approval surged through the crowd. "All right, Normal types, I'm sorry but we don't have any Ancient Scrolls for you. Fire types, please come up." A long line of fire types came up and the sorting of scrolls began.

"Sir, they destroyed Dusk. A hundred and thirteen spirits were destroyed." Agent X reported. He, Team Meanies, and the Weavile crew were kneeling in front of their master.

"Hmm…this bodes bad news. That fortress was where I stored Final Judgment. Cresselia, Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, Kyogre, Groudon, come here!" Darkrai yelled. The six legendaries appeared into the room.

"Yes, my love?" Cresselia asked, snuggling next to Darkrai.

"Arceus' pawns plan to invade here and banish me. I want to warn you six that they might attack you as well. Fight back with all your might and don't hold back." Darkrai told them.

"Don't worry Darkrai, we'll stop them and continue our work." Kyogre murmured, vanishing. Groudon snorted and disappeared while Giratina went through his dimensional portal. Dialga opened a time portal and leapt through while Palkia opened a space portal and went through. Cresselia and Darkrai stayed next to each other.

"What are you waiting for? Fortify the defenses!" Darkrai yelled. His minions bowed and ran away, leaving Cresselia alone with Darkrai.

"What's wrong, my love? You seem, angrier than usual." Cresselia soothed.

"They're going to succeed. Arceus' pawns are going to stop me, I know it." Darkrai muttered, clacking his claws on his throne.

"No they won't, I won't let them." Cresselia said, snuggling against Darkrai. "I love you, and what you're doing is right and will work." She assured him.

Darkrai smiled and hugged her. "Thank you dear. But I don't want you here during the battle. If you got hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt…" he said, looking at her beautiful eyes.

"But, my love…" she fought.

"No. I know we're equals, but in this I won't step down. Please, if you don't want to do this because you don't like it, do it for me." He begged.

"Fine." She said, hurt. She teleported away, leaving Darkrai with his thoughts.

"My plan was perfect…Arceus' pawns are stopping me…was Lucius right, though? Would I have brought humans here?" Darkrai mused aloud, his normally dark demeanor melting away. Darkrai thought, uncertain about the future…

The sorting of the scrolls went long into the night. The moon was shining yet everyone was hyped up on adrenaline and excitement. There were three scrolls left, Draco Meteor, Blast Burn and Final Judgment.

"Alright, all Dragon types, we have Draco Meteor." Lucius announced. Three ran up, one from each of the main Dragon evolutionary lines. A green female Dragonite, the Salamence who yelled at Lucius back in the hall of Origins, and a Garchomp. "Now, all three of you want it, but we want to settle this fairly…so does anyone want to pass this up?" Lucius asked, positive of what he thought the answer was.

Salamence spoke up. "I don't want it. All that power isn't right for any one dragon. So, I'll pass on this. Thank you for the offer." He smiled, bowed and walked away.

"I would like that, but if my mate wants it than I'll allow her to take it." Garchomp said with a smile.

"Thank you sweetie." Dragonite said, her green cheeks blushing. "Are you sure?" Garchomp nodded. Dragonite smiled and put her paw on the scroll, absorbing the knowledge within. The scroll didn't burn though.

Lucius looked at it. "Did you learn it?" he asked, uncertain. This scroll was slightly different colored from other scrolls, like Strength…that meant…

Dragonite nodded uncertainly. "Let me test it…over there." She flew into the air and all eyes turned on her. She took a deep breath and gathered her energy. She turned her head into the air and shot a small fire ball. Raising her claws, the fireball grew above her. She made a throwing motion and the Draco Meteor flew down and exploded in the ground, making a huge hole. She gasped as the energy drained from her.

"So, Garchomp, Salamence, you guys could learn this!" Lucius cried out. The two flew over and put their paws on the scroll and absorbed the knowledge. Smiling, Garchomp and Dragonite stood next to Lucius while Salamence flew back to her two Shelgon twins.

"All right, we also got Blast Burn." Suddenly Lucius was swarmed by fire types. "Um…" Lucius tried to say.

There were a couple Pokémon that weren't fully evolved. "I'm sorry, but only fully evolved Pokémon can learn this…" the under evolved Pokémon grumbled but walked away.

That left Charizard of Team A.C.T and an Infernape. "So, I'm doubting neither one of you would risk the chance of the scroll being a permanent Ancient Scroll?"

The two looked and each other and Charizard shrugged. "After you, dude." Charizard said with a smile.

"Thanks." Infernape said, extremely polite. He walked forward and placed his hand on the scroll and absorbed the knowledge. The scroll didn't burn and Charizard learned it.

"Great. Now for Final Judgment." All Pokémon perked up. "Only fully evolved Pokémon can learn it." Some of them sat down but there were still a lot. "How do we decide who learns it?" Lucius mumbled.

Suddenly Alakazam from Team A.C.T stepped forward. "I will learn it." He said. Roars of anger and disapproval went through the crowd and some started shooting off energy powers.

"Quiet!" Lucius roared, using his Extrasensory powers to magnify his voice. "We need to resolve this peacefully. We cannot have ill-feelings towards one another when we attack Darkrai." Lucius said.

Several Pokémon walked forward. "I'll learn Final Judgment." They said in unison. They growled and each other and were about to fight when Lucius put his paw on Final Judgment and absorbed the knowledge of Final Judgment. The others looked flabbergasted when the scroll caught on fire and slowly melted.

"It's decided. I'll learn Final Judgment. Now, you are welcome to stay here tonight and rest. Tomorrow we head out to fight Darkrai." Lucius announced. There were cheers of approval and soon everyone was settling down to sleep.

"Lucius!" Bella yelled. Lucius turned to see her breathing on the ground, her face contorted in pain.

"Oh, crap…" he muttered, running over. "The eggs?" he asked. She nodded, in to much pain to answer. Lucius felt horrible as she yelled in pain, all four of their parents around her. Lucius felt a flash of inspiration and used Extrasensory on Bella. He dove into her mind and started to draw out the pain and place it in his body.

The two were in pain, less than Bella was originally. She finally passed the eggs, and the pain evaporated. "You alright?" Lucius said, licking her cheek. She smiled at him and he nudged the eggs over to be next to her.

"Yes my love. Better than OK, actually. Happy. Happier than I've ever been." Lucius looked at her and she smiled. The two eggs were slightly orange with a Vulpix tail pattern on the bottom.

"Don't worry Lucius, it takes almost a week or more before the eggs hatch." Lucius' mom reassured him. "So hurry up and beat Darkrai so you can come back here."

Lucius smiled at Bella and kissed her cheek. He felt more determined to beat Darkrai. But what does Final Judgment do?

**I know these eggs are being made fast but they're made fast in the games so...shrugs. IDK what to do**


	23. Chapter 23

**The end is almost upon us my friends. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's one of the sadest I've ever written.**

Chapter 23

Poor Flare

The next morning everyone was up and ready to go. "Wait, I have a question." Every face turned to look at a meek looking Bellossom. "How do we get to Darkrai's lair? Does anyone have any idea where it is?"

Lucius opened his mouth than abruptly closed it. "Um…" there was a glaring flaw in the plan. Suddenly there was a bright light and they Teleported.

They were sitting on a beach with Mew, Suicune and Articuno in front of them. "Well, here it is!" Mew telepathically induced into their minds. Everyone looked around, confused. "It's over the sea." He said blandly.

"How do we get there? Flying types and fly over the sea, water types can swim, but what about us others?" Lucius asked, confused. All the other land types roared out.

"Quiet!" Suicune yelled. Everyone shut up immediately. "That's what Articuno and I are here for. We are going to make an ice bridge towards Darkrai's fortress." He explained. Everyone nodded in approval. The flying types and water types headed out while Articuno and Suicune shot powerful Blizzard attacks at the water, making a large bridge that the others could walk across. The siege had begun.

Lucius led the land group across the bridge with Articuno and Suicune in the lead. He was worried, worried for Bella, his unborn children and his family. What if they couldn't stop Darkrai, what if he killed Bella? Lucius felt rage build up inside him, but he bottled it up. He would unleash it amongst the masses.

"Hey, Lucius." Flare said, walking up next to him. "Look, I'm sorry what happened between us. Let's kick some Darkrai butt and protect all Pokémon, alright?" he said with a smile. This was the Flare that Lucius knew and liked.

"Alright man." Lucius smiled, his tails swooshing happily. Chika and Croc ran up to them.

"Bella's probably mad about not being here, huh?" Chika giggled.

"Nah, she's probably having fun watching our children." Lucius said.

At Bella's house, though. "MAN THIS IS BORING!!! I WANNA FIGHT DARKRAI TOO!" Bella screamed.

"So, what's the plan? How does Final Judgment work?" Flare asked.

"As far as I can tell, it's a banishing spell. It can permanently banish a Pokémon somewhere, anywhere, I want. But it's horrible, the pain it inflicts on the victim…" Lucius shivered.

"That's why we're using it on Darkrai and no one else." Croc said, practicing his jabs for when they fought. "Man I'm pumped!" he roared. Lucius, Flare and Chika chuckled.

"Better feel that way when we're dodging enemies out for our blood." Chika said.

They finally got to the fortress, it's giant black bricks seemingly absorbing the sun. "Alright, this is where we leave you." Mew said. He used Teleport and he, Suicune and Articuno were gone.

"Alright, listen up! Ah forget it. CHARGE!!!" Lucius screamed. All the Pokémon were lost in a battle rush, and they surged forward in a mad mass. Pokémon serving Darkrai jumped out of the woods surrounding the Black Fortress, and the battle began.

Lucius let out a powerful Flamethrower than slammed into a few Pokémon, knocking them out instantly. He was about to stay behind to fight them when a Dewgong ran up next to him. "You know Final Judgment, you can't waste time with these wimps. Leave them to some of us and charge on!" she yelled, shooting off Ice Beam after Ice Beam."

"Thanks." Lucius said to her, and he ran off with Chika, Flare, Croc and a large group of Pokémon behind them. They got to the door to find it heavily guarded. "Alakazam!" Lucius roared. "Would you like the honors?"

"Why, I would." He thanked Lucius. Focusing, he sent a wave of Psychic energy, slamming into the guards and demolishing the door. Charging in, the room was soon filled with flying attacks and energy beams. Lucius ducked and shot off a Flamethrower and deflected a Supersonic wave with Extrasensory.

"Lucius, where's Darkrai?" Chika yelled, throwing a Golbat into the wall with her Vine Whips while Croc smashed into two Machoke's with his Ice Punches. Lucius reached out, but he felt nothing.

"I can't tell. Too much magic in the air!" Lucius roared, letting off a Dark Pulse shockwave, making sure it didn't hit any of his allies. "We need to find someone and get the information out of them!" Suddenly a door in the back opened and three Weavile stepped out. "Hey you guys, don't they look familiar?" Lucius joked.

"It's the brats that stopped us that time!" Pickpocket screeched. Lucius, Chika, Flare and Croc ran after them, Lucius closing the door behind them with Extrasensory. "Now to settle a score." Pickpocket grinned.

Lucius started the duel with a Flamethrower. The Weaviles dodged and unleashed a Tri-Icy Wind. Lucius pushed it back with Extrasensory. Flare and Lucius combined a Flamethrower and hit Sneak, making him scream as he dropped.

Croc and Chika took on Thief, attacking him in opposite directions to keep him off balance. While Croc punched high while Chika swiped low with Vine Whip. Sneak was using acrobats and shooting off Ice Beams which couldn't possible hit due to his imbalance. Finally Croc hit Sneak's legs with an Ice Punch, which didn't due much damage but managed to knock off his routine and Chika's Vine Whip slashed his head, making him fall down.

Lucius saw this and took the opportunity and shot a Flamethrower at Sneak. Sneak yelled as it hit him and he slid into the wall. Croc smashed his frozen fist into Sneak's head, knocking him out and leaving Pickpocket.

"Leave him conscious! We need the information out of him!" Lucius barked. The five fanned out around Pickpocket, cornering him. Lucius shot off a Flamethrower to start.

Pickpocket back flipped and avoided it. Chika's Vine Whip shot out and Pickpocket used Ice Punch on the vines, freezing them. He landed on them and readied himself. Croc raced forward and made an Ice Punch, but Pickpocket grabbed Croc's wrist and twirled over his back, exposing Croc to the incoming Flamethrower. "My bad Croc." Flare yelled. Croc growled and grabbed Pickpocket's wrist, and turned him over to slam him into Chika's frozen vines.

"Ow!" Pickpocket yelled. Lucius powered up a Flamethrower along with Flare, and they shot it at him. He yelled but stayed conscious.

"Chika, pin him!" Lucius yelled. Chika's vines defrosted and more shot out, wrapping around all of Pickpocket's limbs. "Alright, where's Darkrai?" Lucius growled.

"Can't tell you." Pickpocket smiled. Lucius focused and opened his mouth. Black smoke came out and went into Pickpockets, making him gurgle in pain.

"Now will you tell us?" Lucius asked. Pickpocket shook his head weakly. Lucius sighed and released more Dark Pulse tendrils, forcing them down Pickpocket's throat. He screamed again, but Lucius didn't let up. He did, and let Pickpocket catch his bread. "Tell us!" he screamed, his eyes turning black.

"I…won't sell…out my Master…" Pickpocket gurgled. Lucius went overboard. The tendrils went into his throat and eyes out his eyes, making Pickpocket scream in more pain than any Pokémon should be.

"Tell me!" Lucius growled, his voice demonic.

"Down the hall…from here…red door with…skull on it…" Pickpocket fainted. Lucius stepped off of him and started to walk down the hall. Suddenly, three more familiar figures jumped out.

"You!" Lucius hissed.

"Team Meanies is back!" Chuck the Medicham cheered. The three took battle poses and Lucius and his friends did likewise.

"Let us through and we won't kill you." Lucius growled, his black eyes promising death.

"We can't do that." Specter chuckled, his Gengar form moving up and down. Lucius' gaping mouth shot out a Dark Pulse that exploded in front of where Team Meanies was. Chuck jumped forward, his hand shooting off electricity and chopping near Croc. Croc side stepped and punched Chuck while Lucius hit him with a Dark Pulse.

"Flare, Chika, get Snake! I'll get Specter." Lucius growled. Croc and Chuck were exchanging punches faster than Lucius could follow. Lucius and Specter faced off.

Flare shot off a Flamethrower at Snake, who twisted around the beam of fire while Chika's vines shot out and wrapped around the serpent. Flare ran forward and slammed into Snake, who yelled. Chika twisted her vines and tossed Snake into the ceiling. As Snake came down Flare shot off the strongest Flamethrower he could muster and hit Snake dead on.

Lucius unleashed an Extrasensory blast at Specter, who shot a Shadow Ball at the pink energy, canceling each other out. Growling Lucius unleashed a Dark Pulse beam at Specter, who couldn't react fast enough to dodge it. It hit Specter, and Lucius shot off an Extrasensory, Flamethrower and Dark Pulse, hitting Specter with enough force to kill.

Specter lay there, gasping for air as a trickle of blood dribbled out of his mouth. "If I'm going…I'm taking…you with me!" he screamed. He shot out a red beam of energy, heading for Lucius. Destiny Bond. Just as it was about to his Lucius, someone jumped in the way and took it. Specter roared with anger, but it died on his lips, just as he did.

"Flare, why did you do that?!?" Lucius roared, looking at his dying friend. Flare looked up at him and smiled.

"Tell Bella, I love her…" Flare breathed his last, and died.

**This was the hardest thing I've ever written. Post your responses.**

**Requiescat in pace Flare, the noble Warrior.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Confrontation

Flare's bodied lay there, his friends around him. Lucius was crying slightly, not from grief but from rage. Remembering what his parents told him about Fire type burials he built up energy and set Flare's body on fire.

"Lucius, what are you doing?!?" Chika screamed, backing away from the body.

"Fire types burn their dead. The skin holds a Fire type's soul and when it is burnt the soul can travel to Paradise." Lucius explained to them. Suddenly two figures walked into the room. "Where's Alakazam guys?" Lucius asked, fearing the answer.

"We're just Team C.T. now." Tyranitar growled, his eyes tearing up. The three of them had been best friends since they had met. To lose Alakazam like this…it must've destroyed them.

"Darkrai has ripped so much from us…" Lucius started to give off black tendrils of energy. "And now I'm going to end it." Lucius growled, running towards the back door. It opened for him and he closed it behind him. He heard loud bangs on the door and screams from the other side. "Sorry guys," Lucius said. "You're not dying on my behalf." Lucius turned and focused his breathing. He focused and made the door to Darkrai's chamber explode open.

Darkrai and Cresselia yelled as Lucius made the door implode. One half of the door smashed into Cresselia. "Cressy!" Darkrai howled, his anger building up.

"Darkrai, I'm going to kill you." Lucius growled.

"I'm going to kill you, than your mate, than your unborn children!" Darkrai screamed, staring at Lucius.

"Darkrai, Lucius, stop!" Cresselia screamed, rushing over between the two. "Please, stop." She begged.

Lucius stared at her and decided to see what Final Judgment could do. Focusing his energy, his nine tails lifted off the ground and shot off nine balls of energy that hit Cresselia. She screamed as they burned into her skin and teleported her away.

Darkrai stared at where she was. "What did you do to her?" he yelled, his eye tearing up.

"The same thing I'm going to do to you." Lucius growled, shooting off a Flamethrower at Darkrai.

Darkrai dodged and summoned two Shadow Balls and shot them at Lucius, who released a Dark Pulse and destroyed them. "Why do you work for Arceus?" Darkrai yelled, shooting Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball.

Lucius raced around the room, jumping behind shards of the demolished door to avoid the Shadow Balls. "To stop you from bringing humans to our continent and dooming all Pokémon!" Lucius yelled, jumping into the air and releasing an Extrasensory beam. Darkrai growled as it struck him in the chest.

"My ritual will destroy all humans, not summon them!" Darkrai cried out, using Brick Break on the table Lucius was hiding behind. Lucius was hit by the sheer force and flew into a wall, shouting in pain.

"No, it's going to fail and bring all humans to this world!" Lucius growled, getting to his feet. He summoned his energy and shot off a Flamethrower at Darkrai. Darkrai focused and created a Protect wall that stopped the Flamethrower.

"No, Arceus is lying!" Darkrai cried, shooting the Protect wall forward. Lucius jumped out of the way as it slammed into the wall, and Lucius released a Dark Pulse beam at Darkrai. Darkrai floated out of the way and releasing a Shadow Ball.

"Arceus wouldn't lie! He would do anything to protect us!" Lucius snarled, releasing a Flamethrower infused with Dark Pulse powers. Darkrai yelled in pain as the beam hit him and pushed him into the wall. He slumped to the floor, weak from using all his energy.

Lucius moved forward, his face twisted with hate. He readied himself to finish Darkrai when Darkrai looked up. "I'm not done yet!" he growled. His arms waved and a black, purplish wind whipped across the room, slashing at Lucius and throwing him across the room. Darkrai floated up, his body outlined in a red aura. "Ominous Wind is so useful, wouldn't you agree?"

Lucius smiled as his Extrasensory finished analyzing Ominous Wind. "Why, yes it is!" Lucius growled, unleashing an Ominous Wind of his own. Darkrai growled as a red wind slashed at him, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Darkrai's own.

Darkrai growled and the red aura around him surged in energy. "Lucius, please listen." Darkrai said, lowering his energy. "Arceus is lying to you…my plan will stop humans…please." Darkrai pleaded.

Lucius lowered his head, thinking. "You know Darkrai…" Darkrai beamed. "I'm not a sap." Lucius shot off a Flamethrower that hit Darkrai. Slumping against the wall, Darkrai tried to surge in power but Lucius hit him with another Flamethrower and didn't let up. Darkrai couldn't hold it in any more and screamed in extreme agony. "Now I have to banish you forever." Lucius growled.

Lucius focused his energy and began his Final Judgment. His tails glowed with a purple energy as he focused. Darkrai glared at him hatefully as Lucius finished the spell. Nine seals hit Darkrai dead center of the chest. Darkrai yelled in pain as a purple circle formed around him. "Now what Lucius? Kill me?"

Lucius shook his head and smiled. "You're stuck here until someone walks in of their own free will. Once all the Pokémon who came here to take care of you leave, no one will be allowed to come back to this island. No one will come back to Newmoon Island, Darkrai." Lucius turned and left a snarling Darkrai sealed to the floor with no chance to escape.  
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Once outside everyone found Cresselia on the other side of the circular island, sobbing and hissing at anyone who came near her. "What are we going to do? Just leave them here?" a Golem asked.

"We have to. We'll let the Legendaries deal with these two." Lucius said. The dead were disposed with in accordance to their types and their beliefs. After all the dead were gone, the remainder of the Pokémon gathered at the edge of the island and fell asleep, uncertain of what was going to happen to them now that they had beaten Darkrai. As soon as they fell asleep, Mew, Moltres and Ho-oh came down, Moltres and Ho-oh working on making Crescent and Newmoon Islands while Mew teleporting the group of Pokémon to the Hall of Origins.  
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Lucius awoke to realize the gravity of what had happened. _'Darkrai's gone and humans won't come to our world!'_ he thought. Suddenly he roared with happiness and when everyone came too, the grogginess out of their systems, they realized what they had done and everyone started to celebrate. Chika, Lucius and Croc were celebrating by dancing with each other, laughing and singing when they realized they were in front of Arceus.

"Good job, all of you." His voice reverberated through the hall.

"Good job? We stopped humans from coming to our world! This is cause for years of celebrations!" a voice cried out from the crowd.

"Wrong. Humans will still come." Arceus said, his voice neutral. The dancing and cheering died down slightly.

"What do you mean Arceus? You said Darkrai's plan would backfire and bring humans." Lucius growled, stepping forward.

"A slight shift of the truth on my part. You are all living in the past, in the present of the world humans have already come here and conquered this land. Darkrai knew this and wanted to stop it, so he convinced Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Cresselia, Kyogre and Groudon to help him come back to this period in time to destroy humans before they discovered Pokémon."

"You mean, we just banished the one Pokémon who could stop humans?" Lucius asked. Arceus nodded. "You would rather we all be enslaved than kill a bunch of monsters?"

"The genocide of humans would disturb all of history and the problems made would affect the entire world." Arceus explained. Suddenly, all the legendaries and other Pokémon roared in outrage.

"You've doomed us!" someone screamed.

"You lied to us!" Mew telepathically roared.

"Why?" Lucius asked calmly.

"History has been written. If he had changed it no one would know what would happen." Arceus told the group.

"So we're not important." Lucius took a step forward and Arceus growled. "We were just your tools to protect history. Tell me Arceus, are you captured in the future?"

"No. I am seen but never captured." Arceus told them proudly.

"Well, I'm about to make history so you're not seen at all!" Lucius growled. His nine tails glowed and nine orbs hit Arceus. Lucius had banished Arceus to the Hall of Origins using Final Judgment. "And since only humans can break the seal, you'll be here for a while." Lucius said.

Arceus roared and swore revenge while everyone else, legendaries and all, turned and walked away.


	25. Chapter 25

**The Last chapter is upon us my friends. Thank you EvangelineMercier, xEmilia, Kasuchi Koichi, Glacial Eidolon, GiratinaB, Jiyle and Bluestar2356 for reviewing and all of you for viewing my story. This was my favorite story to write, it was fun and I loved to read all the PM's and reviews I got from all of you. Enjoy Chapter 25 of Lucius, the Legendary Vulpix.**

Chapter 25

Epilogue

Once out of the Hall of Origin, Lucius and the rest of the Pokémon faced the legendaries. "So did any of you know about this?" Lucius asked, the others snarling.

Ho-oh and Mew floated forward. "No, we didn't know. Arceus told us if we stopped him humans wouldn't come. Dialga seemed to know it was a lie due to his time viewing abilities. Celebi, did you know?" Mew asked.

"I can view history, not different histories depending on choices made. I was as blinded as you." Celebi muttered, looking down.

"Well, what will happen now? To you, to us, to all Pokémon in general." Croc asked.

"We cannot live in the Hall of Origin anymore, so we shall live amongst you." Ho-oh told them. "You must return to your homes, and explain the lie if you so wish. And do not worry; humans do not come here for hundreds of years."

"But how will you survive? Legendaries aren't immortal in this land, are you?" Lucius asked.

Raikou landed before them. "We are not immortal outside the Hall of Origin, it is true. But we reproduce asexually, meaning when we are to die we lay eggs and our children continue our legacy. Now, return to your homes. We shall spread." Raikou said. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and when the Pokémon opened their eyes the legendaries were gone.

Lucius turned to the motley group of Pokémon. "You heard them everyone, return to your homes. Tell your towns of how Arceus lied to us and is not to be trusted. And tell them now to panic, we have hundreds of years." Lucius smiled. The group agreed and dispersed. Lucius, Chika and Croc were the last on the mountain.

"Well, let's return home and tell Dweder of Arceus' betrayal." Lucius said. They turned away, heads bowed and tails dragging across the ground.

Lucius, Chika and Croc returned to Dweder when the moon was high in the air. "We'll call the town to a meeting tomorrow. I want to see Bella, and I'm tired…" Lucius muttered. That was the first words any of them had said since Mount Coronet. The others nodded and they set off in different positions.

Lucius got to his house and walked in, everyone asleep. Sneaking into his room he saw Bella laying there, her eyes looking outside at the full moon. "Hello Bella."

Bella's head snapped forward, her eyes filled with fear, than she saw it was Lucius. "Lucius…" she whispered happily. The two eggs were lying against her side and she had her tails wrapped around them defensively. He lay down next to her, his smile fake. "What's wrong? Didn't you stop Darkrai?" She asked.

"That's the problem Bella. Turns out Darkrai was right, his plan would've stopped humans. Arceus lied to us." Bella gasped. "But humans won't be here for hundreds of years, though we'll still be alive than probably."

She looked at the eggs and Lucius licked her cheek. "Don't worry, our children will be safe." He assured her. She leaned against him, and he her. "But right now, I'm depressed. Flare died in the battle." She cried out and her eyes filled with tears. "He told me to tell you he loved you." She put her head on her paws and Lucius ran his paw across her back.

"Poor Flare…" she mumbled.

"Poor Pokémon, everywhere." Lucius frowned. The two cried together, finally falling asleep.

The next day Lucius was woken up by a violent shaking. "Wussup?" he asked groggily.

"The entire town is outside." Brann told the two. Lucius nodded and got up.

Bella was about to get up when Lucius put a paw on her back. "Can you stay with the eggs Bella? They might hatch soon and I want someone around." She smiled at him and nodded. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asked.

"No." she smiled.

"I love you." He kissed her before walking out. The entire town was literally outside, Chika and Croc waiting for him. Flare's parents weren't there, they must've been morning.

"What do we say Lucius?" Chika asked, leaning over.

"The truth…" he told her. "We stopped Darkrai." He told the gathered audiences. Everyone started cheering but Lucius shot off a Flamethrower that silenced everyone. "But that was the wrong thing. Arceus lied to us, Darkrai's plan would've stopped humans, but we banished him and now, in hundreds of years, humans will come." The crowd looked around. "So, while we have nothing to fear immediately, I urge you to ignore Arceus if he comes to you in a dream or in person somehow." Lucius turned and walked inside, leaving the group outside to bicker and argue with each other.

Inside his room the eggs were rocking violently. Lucius ran over to Bella, a smile on his face. "Come on…" Bella urged, looking at the eggs.

"Push little Vulpix." Lucius charmed, startling Bella. She smiled at him than turned her attention to the eggs when they broke and two, small Vulpix crawled out. Lucius grabbed one by the scruff of the neck and placed her in front of him.

"Vulpix!" she cried out, cowering. Lucius smiled and licked her fur, getting the embyotic goo off her skin. She smiled and looked at him, and Lucius saw Bella treating the boy Vulpix the same way. "You name the boy, I'll name the girl?" he asked her. She nodded.

Lucius nuzzled the little girl, making her giggle. He nipped her ears and teased her, making her laugh. "I'll name you…" Lucius frowned, making the girl Vulpix look at him. "Hmmm…Aria." He smiled.

"Vuuuul pix!" Aria cried. Lucius nuzzled her happily, making Aria giggle.

"What's the boy's name?" Lucius asked Bella. He picked up Aria by the scruff of her neck and carried her over to Bella, who was watching the little boy jump around the room excitedly. Suddenly the boy and girl started crying.

"They're hungry…" she smiled. "And his name is L." Bella smiled. Lucius put the squirming Aria down and L ran over to smell her. She snapped at him and he cowered away from her.

"Why L?" Lucius asked, looking at the two who were looking around.

"For Lucius Jr. I like L better, it just rolls off the tongue." She smiled. She rolled over and the two Vulpix ran over and drank.

"L…why didn't my parents think about that?" Lucius smiled as he looked at Bella, L and Aria. His family.

**If your sad about this story coming to a close, review with your preference. Do you want me to continue or not? The results will determine if I continue and write a spin-off to this story. Thank all of you!**


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